CENTRALIA, Wash. — Two men who allegedly stole excavators, generators, and other heavy equipment were arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail, the Centralia Police Department (CPD) said in a release.
One of the men, 45-year-old Jonathan E. Dalo, is accused of stealing and reselling heavy equipment across multiple Washington counties over the last seven years, CPD said.
Centralia Police highlight a recent case that led to Dalo’s arrest where an excavator valued at around $92,000 was reported stolen from a job site in Lewis County on January 26.
CPD obtained surveillance video from a local business which showed a green Ford Super Duty pickup towing the stolen excavator, according to police.
When police went to search the address associated with the truck on February 2 near Tennessee Road in Winlock, officers saw the truck arrive and immediately tried to drive away, the release said.
Police say they were able to intercept the truck and arrest Dalo who was behind the wheel of the Ford pickup.
According CPD, Dalo admitted to stealing the excavator and police found he was directly linked to the theft of other heavy equipment over the last seven years with a combined value of about $615,000.
Police named another man, 49-year-old Brandon L. Moore, as a co-conspirator linked to Dalo. The two allegedly worked together to steal and re-sell the equipment between Lewis, Thurston, Cowlitz, and Clark Counties, CPD said.
Delo and Moore were booked into the Lewis County Jail on April 15 charged with theft, trafficking of stolen property, and Moore was also charged with leading organized crime, Centralia Police said.
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