Prosecutors charge man in theft of $70,000 in jewelry from Bonney Lake store

The display case held a dozen necklaces worth nearly $70,000.

The theft happened quickly.

Authorities said Ryan Halvorson, 26, walked into the Fred Meyer store in Bonney Lake in a hat and dark sunglasses, cut the security chord on the display case and ran out of the store with it.

A getaway driver was waiting out front and they sped away.

Police reviewed surveillance video, which they said showed Halvorson had been in the store several times in the month leading up to the Sept. 7 theft.

Detectives tracked him down through a credit application he’d previously filled out in Fred Meyer. Halvorson had been spotted examining a $6,000 necklace on several occasions, according to court records.

Prosecutors on Monday charged Halvorson with first-degree theft, first-degree trafficking in stolen property and third-degree retail theft with special circumstances.

He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Halvorson pawned a dozen of the necklaces in Tacoma the day after he stole them, records state.

He said two people talked him into taking the display case and he gave them most of the stolen jewelry. No one else has been charged in the case.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Prosecutors charge man in theft of $70,000 in jewelry from Bonney Lake store."