Wednesday raid in Vancouver home part of two-state investigation

Police on both sides of the Columbia River helped crack a long-running stolen property case and arrested two people — one in Vancouver on Wednesday — for alleged crimes in Portland, Sandy, Ore., and Vancouver, police said Thursday.

The first suspect, Ben Larson, 33, currently in prison in Oregon, is alleged to have learned from a U.S. Postal Service employee when homeowners were on vacation and burglarized their homes, according to a bulletin from the Portland Police Bureau.

The postal worker who allegedly gave information to Larson has not been arrested, but detectives are working on that, police said.

In several raids, the bulletin said, officers with several agencies recovered stolen property including a cargo trailer that contained all the belongings of a couple who recently moved from Las Vegas to Portland, including items of sentimental value such as wedding gifts.

Even though the stolen trailer had been repainted, and its VIN number sanded off, officers in Sandy, Ore., figured out whom it belonged to.

“Everyone had a piece of the case,” said Portland police Detective Anthony Merrill.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Camas Police Department had roles in the interagency investigation that also included Portland police, the Sandy and Beaverton police departments, the Multnomah County, Ore., Sheriff’s Office, the Oregon State Police and the U.S. Postal Service, the bulletin said.

Detective Merrill said he started the case in Jan. 2009 after developing information while investigating a robbery.

After hearing that Larson allegedly was working with a postal-service accomplice, and assisted by probation officers in Hood River, Ore., Merrill said he implicated Larson in two burglaries and a felony assault with a hammer, both occurring in Portland.

Larson, who pleaded guilty, is serving about seven years in prison in Oregon, Merrill said Thursday.

The focus later turned to Karen Andersen, 31, of Vancouver, an acquaintance of Larson’s.

A traffic stop in Oregon City of a stolen car allegedly used by Andersen, made by Oregon State Police, found stolen property including some taken in car prowls, Merrill said.

That led to a February raid of Anderson’s home in the 12900 block of Northeast 43rd Circle, south of Orchards, where the stolen cargo trailer was found, Merrill said.

Merrill said the owner of the cargo trailer later looked at photographs of stolen property from the February raid and identified 42 of his belongings.

As a result, officers raided Anderson’s home a second time — on Wednesday — and recovered stolen property belonging to the cargo trailer’s owners, Merrill said.

“The family is very happy to have their belongings back, including heirlooms,” Merrill said.

On Thursday, Andersen was being held without bail in the Clark County Jail on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine and two counts of possessing stolen property.

Andersen, who was arrested Wednesday, is to appear in court on May 4, a jail employee said.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.