Sleeping Burglar Linked to Two Additional Occupied Residential Burglaries
Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Deputies arrested an adult male who was found sleeping inside a residence. With additional evidence located at the time of the arrest, the investigating Deputy linked him to two other burglaries that occurred overnight while the residents were home.
On January 19, 2020, at approximately 12:15 p.m., Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Truman responded to the report of an unknown person sleeping in the caller’s spare bedroom.
Deputy Truman spoke with the homeowners in front of their residence, located in the 7200 block of W. Griffin Rd., as an additional Deputy responded.
Deputy Truman asked if the suspect left any footprints in the snow. One of the homeowners pointed at a set of prints on the driveway approaching the home. Deputy Truman immediately recognized the size and tread pattern to be the same as the footprints of a suspect from two other residential burglary reports he took a few hours earlier. He noted those burglaries were within a few miles of his current location. (13900 and 15400 blocks of S. Cheney Spokane Rd.)
Once Deputy Ian Hays arrived, both Deputies entered the home to contact the suspect, later identified as 31-year-old Charles A. Campbell. Deputy Truman observed items he recognized as items that were reported stolen during one of the earlier burglaries sitting on a chair in the living room. When they entered the spare bedroom, they found Campbell lying in bed with a blanket covering him.
Campbell followed commands, saying he came inside to use the phone, and was safely taken into custody without incident.
After being advised of his rights, Campbell agreed to answer questions. He initially said he didn’t commit any burglaries. He only entered the home because he wanted to use the phone and found the door ajar.
Deputy Truman observed a pair of wet, blue, running shoes on the bed. The soles of the shoes had the same distinctive “V” pattern with a parallel line running through the middle of the heel, which matched the footprints found in the snow at the other two burglaries. He also observed a partially drank half-gallon of chocolate milk on the nightstand next to the bed and a partially drank bottle of Gatorade sitting on the floor next to the bed.
Inside Campbell’s backpack, he located a 12-oz. bottle of chocolate milk, granola bars, and several cheese sticks. A similar bottle of chocolate milk and cheese sticks were reported stolen in one of the earlier burglaries at a residence in the 13900 block of S. Cheney Spokane Rd.
Deputy Truman told Campbell he knew the items were stolen from an earlier reported burglary, and Campbell explained the door was unlocked and he was hungry. Deputy Truman inquired about the additional stolen property he observed in the living room. Campbell said he didn’t know anything about the property, but when he was told the homeowner of the second burglary armed himself and started looking for him, Campbell said he didn’t take anything from that home.
Campbell was advised he was being charged with three counts of residential burglary.
The victims of the home where Campbell was arrested said they returned home and noticed some items out of place and began to search the house. When one of the homeowners found Campbell sleeping in the spare bedroom, he armed himself. He yelled at Campbell, but Campbell didn’t move. They went to the front of their home and called 911. They identified the half-gallon of chocolate milk, a bottle of Gatorade, and the granola bars found in the bedroom where Campbell was arrested, as items taken from other areas of their home.
A pair of Bose headphones believed to have been stolen were collected as evidence.
Campbell was transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail for three counts of residential burglary. He is currently being held on a $15,000 bond.
During all three burglaries, Campbell located an unsecured door and entered the homes without permission. In two of the burglaries, the homeowners were still inside the residences. Campbell was also advised he was fortunate he wasn’t injured as two of the homeowners armed themselves for their safety because Campbell entered their homes.
