Police Follow Trail Of Loot To Hiding Place Of Suspect

Fri., Dec. 29, 1995

From Staff And Wire Reports

Spokane police followed a trail of jewelry and guns from a burglarized pawn shop to a nearby fir tree, where they arrested a man hiding underneath with a bag of loot early Thursday.

Thomas Veit, 37, was booked into the Spokane County Jail for first-degree theft, four counts of theft of a firearm, burglary and malicious mischief.

He told police the bag of stolen goods wasn’t his and that he was just planning to sleep under the tree for the night.

But witnesses identified Veit as the man they saw leaving Evergreen Jewelry and Loan on North Division about 2:30 a.m. He was carrying so many items he had trouble running, police said.

The front glass doors of the business were smashed and metal bars on an interior door pried open. Four glass cases containing jewelry were broken, as well as one case with handguns.

The store’s owner said about $10,000 in property was missing, including four handguns, coins and some jewelry. Damage was estimated at $1,200.

Using a police dog, officers followed a trail of rings from the store to the 3500 block of North Atlantic. In one yard, they spotted several gold rings and a .45-caliber handgun.

The trail ended under the branches of a nearby tree. Veit was there, with a bag that contained several more handguns, more than 60 rings and other jewelry taken from the pawn shop.

Veit has prior theft convictions in Spokane and Tacoma, records show.

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