Map Points The Way To Newport Suspect

He rented a U-Haul truck, packed some of his belongings and down-loaded points of interest and an itinerary from the Internet.

Stephen M. Hesson was ready to leave Newport, Wash. There was only one problem for the theft suspect. He left a map behind.

With it and a point-by-point itinerary, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department was easily able to track the 28-year-old man, accused of passing thousands of dollars in bad checks and then skipping across the country.

Hesson was arrested last week near New York City, authorities said. Police work and The Old Country Buffet will bring Hesson back to Spokane next week.

“It was just piecemeal,” sheriff’s Detective Cal Walker said. “It was just follow the trail. And they left us a nice trail.”

Hesson opened checking accounts in Newport, Wash.; Kellogg, Idaho; Coeur d’Alene and Spokane, Walker said. He supposedly wrote bad checks for two vehicles and a computer system.

Hesson also worked as a manager-in-training at The Old Country Buffet, 12209 E. Sprague. He’s accused of writing at least $4,000 in bad checks to the restaurant, placing them in the till and removing cash.

The restaurant called the Sheriff’s Department in early August. Walker said he then called Hesson, who agreed to talk to the Sheriff’s Department.

But before the meeting, Hesson rented a U-Haul trailer and left town, Walker said.

When Walker checked Hesson’s old residence, he said, he found highlighted maps, an itinerary that listed mileage and time, and four pages of attractions between Newport and Beacon, N.Y., near New York City.

The information was fresh off the Internet, Walker said.

Bad checks started floating back from the trail, ending in Beacon, but the Sheriff’s Department still couldn’t nab the suspect. The county didn’t have the money to extradite Hesson.

So The Old Country Buffet offered to pay to send two detectives back East to bring Hesson back to Spokane, Walker said.

“I can’t say enough good about Old Country Buffet,” he said. “They really impressed me. It’s just phenomenal they’ve taken the definition of cooperation with law enforcement to this level.”

The restaurant’s owner was out of town Monday and couldn’t be reached for comment.

Beacon police and the New York State Patrol worked together to arrest Hesson on a warrant for first-degree theft, Walker said.

Another detective and Walker plan to leave for New York Friday. They’ll probably bring Hesson back early next week, Walker said.

Anyone who might have received a bad check from Hesson is asked to call Crime Check, 456-2233.

, DataTimes