Soup-Eating Burglar Caught In Gig Harbor By K9

GIG HARBOR, WA - A soup-eating, alcohol-drinking, classic-car wanting burglar was caught in the act Wednesday night by a homeowner, and then later by police and a Pierce County K9.

A man came home Wednesday evening to find all the lights on in his house. Inside, he noticed items out of place and a handgun missing. On the kitchen counter was a bowl of half-eaten soup, and next to it an open bottle of Canadian Mist. Smelling exhaust coming from the garage, the homeowner opened the door to find the suspect standing in there.

"Who the hell are you?" the homeowner asked.

The suspect responded that it was his home. Then he took off running.

Pierce County deputies, Gig Harbor police, and Washington State Patrol responded to the area - along Goldman Drive Northwest - and set up a perimeter. Pierce County K9 Zepp and a deputy searched the woods around the home and located the burglar hiding in some brush.

When deputies asked what he was doing, the 32-year-old said he was "just sleeping there." He also told them he was "really high."

The suspect was taken to a local hospital and then to jail on charges of burglary, malicious mischief, unlawful possession of a firearm, and drug charges. Police recovered the homeowner's gun from the suspect.

That exhaust smell the homeowner detected? The suspect had started the engine of the homeowner's classic car and was apparently preparing to flee the scene.

Image courtesy Pierce County Sheriff