Surveillance camera footage that captured the image of a purse theft suspect and his gold-colored Toyota sport-utility vehicle led Battle Ground police to arrest a man and solve several ongoing cases.
The break in the cases came on Nov. 20 when cameras caught the image of a suspect stealing a woman’s purse from a restaurant. Later that day, the victim’s credit cards were used to make five fraudulent purchases totaling nearly $2,000, according to a police news release.
Though police didn’t immediately identify a suspect, on Dec. 14 the gold Toyota was spotted by a Battle Ground officer, who stopped it and arrested the driver, Dennis Lee Porter II, 33, of Woodland, on suspicion of second-degree theft and identity theft.
In the Toyota, officers allegedly found several bottles of pills and unopened and seemingly new merchandise, including power tools, several bank cards, and drug paraphernalia.
After obtaining a warrant, a further search of the vehicle uncovered more identification cards not belonging to Porter, several bank checks, gift cards, three bags containing 120 pieces of mail sent to 30 different addresses, and a lot of new merchandise. More search warrants uncovered burglary tools.
In all, Porter stands accused of five counts of possession of stolen property, 10 counts of possession of stolen mail, one count of making or having burglary tools, three counts of theft II, one count of vehicle prowling, and 11 additional misdemeanors.
Porter is currently being held at Clark County Jail on $57,500 bail.
The recovered mail was turned over to a postal inspector who investigated the case at the federal level. The postal inspector will be notifying those whose mail was recovered; questions regarding possible stolen mail should be directed to the local post office.
The remaining recovered items were placed into evidence at the Battle Ground Police Department with some items already returned to their owners. Those who may have been victims and want to inquire about recovered items may contact Battle Ground Police Department Property Evidence Technician Emily Cain at 360-342-5234 or emily.cain@cityofbg.org.
