Tire customer accused of Tri-Cities burglary spree

A tire thief was caught Sunday morning after burglary spree last week, police said.

Christopher Garcia, 21, of Pasco, allegedly started rounding up tires and wheels when he broke into Tires for Less on Oregon Avenue on Feb. 3, Pasco police said on Facebook.

Then sometime between 2:30 a.m and 3:30 a.m. Friday, he clipped the padlock on a storage yard at Gonzalez Tires on Lewis Street and allegedly grabbed several sets of mounted tires and some loose tires and rims.

The owner estimated the tires were worth about $1,200, according to court records.

While Garcia was taking the items, his black Ram pickup was caught on camera. The garage owner told police that the truck had been in the store recently for work.

Then about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, the burglar returned to the Lewis Street garage, but this time he left before taking anything. Police arrived to find the shop door open and an alarm going off.

Pasco Officer Jasen McClintock was able to tie the truck to Garcia, who has seven outstanding arrest warrants, said police.

When McClintock arrived he found lots of wheels and tires on the property on the 1500 block of West Yakima Street and three men including Garcia. They found the tires taken from Gonzalez Tires in a truck and on the property, according to court records.

Two would-be customers left and Garcia was arrested. He is facing a count of second-degree burglary in Franklin County Superior Court.