Not guilty pleas in laundry room burglary

Two Hoquiam men have been charged with breaking into a laundry room in an effort that netted them $4.50 in quarters.

Michael L. Anderson, 29, and James P. Dudley, 44, both pleaded not guilty in Grays Harbor Superior Court to second-degree burglary charges.

They were arrested Jan. 31, accused of breaking into a locked laundry room in an apartment complex in the 400 block of Queen Avenue in Hoquiam.

Hoquiam Police Department Sgt. Jeremy Mitchell responded, finding a man standing near the laundry room window. The man, later identified as Dudley, looked in the window and ran.

Mitchell found the door locked from the inside, looked in through a window and saw Anderson prying at a laundry machine coin box with a screwdriver, according to court documents.

Mitchell knocked on the window, Anderson looked up, opened the door and surrendered.

In addition to the screwdriver, Anderson had a crowbar matching pry marks on the door.

Sgt. Mitchell also found fresh damage to the washing machines with one suffering severe damage with the coin box removed; it appeared Anderson had secured $4.50 in quarters for his efforts, a Hoquiam Police press release stated.

As detectives responded to help process the scene, a neighbor reported a man was hiding on his back porch nearby. Mitchell identified him as Dudley. Police believe he was acting as lookout.

Both men are held in the Grays Harbor County Jail, Dudley with $25,000 bail, Anderson with $10,000.

Continue reading here:
Not guilty pleas in laundry room burglary