Suspect was detained and later released Thursday night but the vehicle and a cell phone were both seized by law enforcement

Ken Vance, editor
Clark County Today

A suspect in two property theft crimes this month at the US Digital office building in Vancouver was detained by area law enforcement Tuesday night and a vital piece of evidence was seized in the investigation.

Units from the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) detained one of two suspects in the crimes Tuesday night in the Orchards area of Vancouver. The suspect, who was not identified because it is an ongoing investigation, was not arrested according to VPD spokesperson Kim Kapp.

“We did detain a male but he was not arrested,’’ Kapp told Clark County Today Wednesday afternoon. “The investigation is ongoing. Actually, there are multiple investigations. We did not have probable cause to make an arrest.’’

The vehicle the suspect was driving Tuesday night was the same vehicle used in the property theft crimes that took place at US Digital on Feb. 7 and Feb. 16. “We did seize the vehicle as part of the ongoing investigation,’’ Kapp said.

That vehicle was not the key piece of evidence seized by the officers Tuesday night, according to Andrey Ivanov. Ivanov is the founder of the nonprofit Flash Love. One of the two trailers stolen from the US Digital parking lot this month belonged to Flash Love. In addition to the trailer, which was stolen in the Feb. 16 incident, $14,000 of equipment inside the trailer was also stolen.

Ivanov told Clark County Today that he spoke with the investigating VPD officer Wednesday afternoon. The officer told Ivanov that Tuesday’s detainment of the suspect also led to the seizure of a cell phone, which Ivanov believes will provide the investigating officer all the evidence they need to make an arrest.

“They took his phone and they are doing a search on his phone,’’ Ivanov said. “Even though they didn’t arrest him, they now have his phone which will provide all the locations and all of his calls. The phone is what is going to link him to all of these crimes.’’

Ivanov said the reason the officers were unable to arrest the suspect Tuesday night was because the suspect vehicle had tinted windows so they couldn’t positively identify him as the person driving it at the scene of the crime.  

“The window was tinted so they didn’t have his face visible,’’ Ivanov said. “Now, with the search of this phone, this is what will bury him.’’

Ivanov believes calls on the phone will lead investigators to the other suspect involved in the crimes. 

‘They will be able to get the other guy and all the locations so they will now be able to link him to other cases,’’ Ivanov said.

The two suspects in separate vehicles could be seen on video surveillance provided by US Digital. On Feb. 16, a white or light gray SUV was driven to the back parking lot of the office building, located at 1400 NE 136th Ave. The white pickup truck, seized by officers Tuesday night, remained near the US Digital front gate as a lookout. The SUV was caught on video surveillance hitching to the Flash Love trailer and driving away in broad daylight around 3 p.m.

After that theft was discovered, the nonprofit Child Evangelism Fellowship discovered that it was also the victim of a property theft crime on Feb. 7 at 1:30 p.m. at the US Digital location. That theft was also captured on US Digital surveillance video. The suspect vehicles are also linked to the recent theft of a $100,000 barbecue trailer from Goldie’s BBQ, according to Ivanov.

Ivanov and others played a key role in the detainment of the suspect Tuesday night. Operating from information from his own investigation and tips from what he said were at least 100 other community members, Ivanov was keeping an eye out for the suspect Tuesday.

“I staked out the area he was last seen and saw him driving two hours later at the intersection of Covington and Fourth Plain,’’ Ivanov said. “I followed him through a few neighborhoods as he was prowling and stayed at a distance for about 5 miles while on the phone with law enforcement. Once he stopped at a gas station, they arrived and followed him into the Safeway parking lot. Then they swarmed him.

“Our goal was to enable the community to defend itself by mobilizing all eyes, social feeds and cameras to catch the criminal,’’ Ivanov said. “We handed all information to law enforcement and followed the prowler until law enforcement arrived at the scene.’’

Ivanov expressed confidence that the VPD investigation will lead to the arrest of the suspects and, hopefully, recovery of the stolen property.

“They do have locations, so the GES locations will help them see where he spends his time, where he sleeps, where he has traveled,’’ Ivanov said. “This is going to unpack the rathole. Even though I am sad to hear they let him go, now they are monitoring him and they are building a case to fix this thing for good.’’

Ivanov wanted to thank the many members of the Clark County community who have contributed to the search for the suspects and the stolen property.

“What I want to do is praise the community,’’ Ivanov said. “Over 100 people, realistically more because my Facebook post was shared over 170 times, so there’s literally hundreds of people who worked across state lines and don’t even know each other. So much information has flowed into my lap and other people’s laps and that got that cell phone seized. This guy’s time is coming.’’