Officers Recover Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Stolen Fan Merch

PUYALLUP, WA — Deputies are investigating a storage unit heist that had thieves making off with roughly $100,000 worth of collectible action figures and other fan merchandise.

Last month, a storage unit renter called deputies to report that his collectible haul, kept in a storage unit in the 16300 block of Meridian E, had been totally emptied out.

Storage facility employees checked security footage, and found evidence that several suspects had used a U-Haul truck to make off with the stolen goods.

The next day, a deputy out on patrol noticed an unlicensed car parked next to a U-Haul truck parked about ten blocks down Meridian. After talking with the people in the car and running their info, he found that one was listed as a suspect for the storage unit burglary. He also noticed the U-Haul was open and that several boxes were still inside.

Deputies then contacted the victim, who tentatively identified the stolen property as his. The U-Haul was impounded until a search warrant could be obtained, after which the Sheriff's Department Proactive Property Crimes Unit reclaimed the merch inside.

All told, they recovered about half of the stolen goods, 44 of 87 boxes of collectibles.

The boxes have since been returned to their rightful owner, and the identifies of the suspects confirmed. The case has been sent to the prosecutor’s office for a charging decision.