Sleeping burglar awakened by deputies

SPOKANE COUNTY — Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a burglar caught sleeping in a spare bedroom, then linked the suspect to two other nearby burglaries, according to a press release.

On Sunday, Jan. 19, Deputy Ryan Truman responded to a 12:15 p.m. report of a stranger asleep in the caller’s rural residence on the 7200 block of W. Griffin Road.

Arriving, Truman found a set of footprints in the snow on the driveway leading to the home and immediately recognized the size and tread pattern as that from two earlier residential burglaries earlier that day he had investigated just a few miles away on the 13900 and 15400 blocks of S. Cheney Spokane Road.

After Deputy Ian Hays arrived, the two officers entered the home to confront the suspect; on the way Truman recognized items reported stolen during the earlier burglaries sitting on a chair in the living room.

The officers entered the spare bedroom where they found a man, later identified as 31-year-old Charles A. Campbell, lying in bed and covered by a blanket.

Beside the bed was a partially drank half-gallon of chocolate milk on a nightstand and a partially drank bottle of Gatorade sitting on the floor.

They woke Campbell, who was taken into custody without incident.

When asked why he was there, Campbell initially replied he had found the homes door open and had gone inside to use the phone.

He denied committing any burglaries.

Truman found a pair of wet, blue running shoes on the bed whose soles matched the distinctive pattern of the footprints found outside and in the snow at the earlier burglaries.

Inside Campbell’s backpack Truman also found more chocolate milk, granola bars and several cheese sticks, all similar to those reported stolen in one of the earlier burglaries.

When he told Campbell he knew the food items were stolen from an earlier reported burglary, Campbell explained the door had been unlocked and he was hungry, according to the press release.

Campbell also denied knowing anything about the stolen property in the living room when questioned about it.

He was arrested and charged with three counts of residential burglary and is currently being held at Spokane County Jail on a $15,000 bond.

It turns out that Campbell was lucky he wasn’t shot.

After the owners returned home and noticed items out of place they began searching their house when found Campbell asleep in their bed.

The owner armed himself, then yelled at Campbell, trying to wake him, but when Campbell didn’t move they left the house and called 911.

They identified the half-gallon of chocolate milk, the bottle of Gatorade and the granola bars found next to the bed as items taken from their home.

In all three burglaries Campbell allegedly located an unsecured door and entered the homes without permission.

In two cases the owners were home, and one of them had also armed himself after discovering his home’s safety had been compromised.

Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].