Chamberlin arrested in burglaries

RITZVILLE - The Grant County Sheriff's Office arrested a man wanted in connection with a rash of burglaries in Ritzville.

Marcus James Chamberlin, 33, was apprehended by the Grant County Sheriff's Office and booked into the Franklin County Jail for first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary and first-degree trafficking in stolen property.

According to the Adams County Sheriff's Office, Chamberlin was located in Grant County.

On Friday, March 8, Ritzville police and the Adams County Sheriff's Office executed two search warrants targeting stolen property and related items at locations in Ritzville. The warrants were served at addresses in the 100 block of West Sixth Street and the 600 block of West Broadway Avenue, records show.

"We developed information last week that led us to serving the two search warrants," Police Chief Dave McCormick said. "We were able to recover multiple stolen objects from pawn shops in Spokane.

"Marcus and another man were seen on video footage at pawn shops and we were able to identify and return the stolen items to victims from the pawn shop."

The other man in the video is not related to the Ritzville case, the chief said.

Chamberlin's charges will also be referred to Spokane County, according to McCormick.

"We are referring the charges of tracking and possession of stolen property to Spokane county. It's an ongoing investigation but we had some citizens that normally don't come forward when they have information come forward," he said.

McCormick had previously reported on the rash of burglaries in the area during the Tuesday, March 5, meeting of the City Council.

The burglaries, which targeted a variety of locations, including residences, unoccupied buildings, businesses, and churches, amounted to ten incidents. In some instances, entry was gained through unlocked doors, with no signs of forced entry detected. McCormick lamented the absence of security measures such as cameras or alarms in the affected buildings.

During the meeting, McCormick expressed gratitude for the increasing cooperation from community members who had previously been hesitant to come forward with information.

"Those folks are tired of it too," McCormick remarked. "They're beginning to want the problem stopped as much as we do."

McCormick reported no burglaries in the past 8-10 days.

In one notable incident, a vehicle was stolen from a garage during a residential burglary, he said. Acting on a tip from a vigilant neighbor, law enforcement located the vehicle a few hours after its theft. It was discovered in an area known for drug distribution and stolen property in Grant County.

Fingerprints retrieved from the vehicle were submitted to the State Crime Lab.

- Reporter Dale Brown contributed to this report.