A man is behind bars after police say he burglarized a rural Moses Lake residence and stole two firearms.
At around 7:20 a.m. on Friday, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 4000 block of Circle Place Northeast where a woman showed deputies surveillance footage of an unknown man in her garden who was also captured stashing a rifle case in the shrubs of a neighboring residence.
Investigators recovered the rifle case and discovered two rifles inside.
About 20 minutes later, a nearby homeowner in the 8000 block of Cochran Road reported seeing a man who matched the description of the suspect in the surveillance video running from his residence with a rifle case. The homeowner reportedly told detectives that he returned home from having breakfast out and found the screen of his bedroom window had been cut.
Later that day, deputies found the suspect, 39-year-old Tejay R. Beaty, walking along Airway Drive Northeast.
Investigators say Beaty initially denied any involvement in the crime, but chaged his story when confronted with the video evidence.
He was arrested and booked into the Grant County Jail on charges of first-degree burglary, theft of a firearm, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
A background check later revealed Beaty has seventeen prior felony convictions, including most recently for theft, residential burglary, and possession of stolen property.