By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Chehalis police say a man who made the news last night for calling 911 after he broke into a Portland area home to take a shower – and feared the arriving homeowner’s dogs outside the bathroom door – was picked up overnight at Wal-Mart.
Timothy J. Chapek, 24, of Beaverton, Ore., pushed a loaded shopping cart out an emergency exit at Wal-Mart in Chehalis last night and began unloading almost $1,200 of merchandise into a stolen BMW, according to Chehalis police.
Detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said officers called about 12:25 a.m. to the retailer on Northwest Louisiana Avenue found Chapek outside the garden center.
“It was everything,” McNamara said about the stolen goods, listing off items such as stereo speakers, tools, clothing, “lots of clothing.”
Chapek had also allegedly gone behind a counter and tried to get into a cash register, which upgraded his offense from shoplifting to burglary, for going into a place not open to the public, McNamara said.
The “really nice, expensive, new” BMW was found to be stolen from a car dealership in Beaverton, McNamara said.
The sergeant said Chapek had been booked for the incident in Portland, but was released from jail. He is currently in the Lewis County Jail, booked for second-degree burglary and possession of stolen property.
The Oregonian reported last night Chapek and the Portland homeowner both called 911 about 7 p.m. on Monday night; the 24-year-old reportedly confessed what he’d done in and said he feared the homeowner outside the bathroom door might have a gun.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter