Interesting article by reporter Christine Clarridge of the Seattle Times reports that the increase in lumber prices have more than tripled over the past year. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before thieves took note, said the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Earlier this month, deputies arrested a man trying to get away with more than $2,300 worth of wood from a locked lumber yard, the sheriff’s office said Thursday in a Facebook post.

“We’ve seen this with copper prices a number of years ago,” King County sheriff Sgt. Tim Meyers told KING 5. “We saw this with catalytic converter thefts as those minerals spiked, and our concern is that lumber thefts are going to be the new catalytic converter thefts as thieves try to profit in this spike in cost.”

Catalytic converters, however, don’t usually require a truck to cart away.

According to the article, on June 1, an employee of Dunn Lumber on North 185th Street in Shoreline called dispatchers around 3:30 a.m. The employee was watching a live camera feed of the lumber yard, where a suspect could be seen taking 32 pieces of lumber from the locked space and stacking them up near an entry point where a Dodge Durango sat waiting, police said. The man was arrested and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of commercial burglary.

As lumber prices hit all-time highs, theft seems to be on the rise – and not just in Washington. In early May, a Texas man was arrested for stealing an amount of lumber greater than $500 but less than $20,000. In April, Tennessee’s Department of Agriculture warned landowners to secure their properties as lumber thefts are rising in the state. On May 21, 144 sheets of plywood – valued at over $10,000 – were stolen from a job site in Florida. 

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with Theft or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.