On December 9, 2024 at approximately 7:50 a.m., a suspicious vehicle was reported in the 5200 block of North Coast Highway. Officers located the vehicle with all of the doors open and items strewn about around the vehicle. It was determined the vehicle had been parked at the location for about 2 hours prior to police arrival. Officers were able to contact the registered owner of the vehicle and learned it was, in fact, stolen from a residence on Cherokee Lane in Newport. The vehicle owner was unaware their vehicle had been stolen until contacted by Officers.
Officers reviewed surveillance footage from the area and developed information that the suspect, who had driven the vehicle to its current location, had fled on foot northbound from the location. Officer Mangum and K9 Sly started a track and K9 Sly was able to follow the route the suspect had taken. During his track, K9 Sly alerted to several items lying on the ground, which were later determined to have been taken from inside the stolen vehicle. K9 Sly also located a large bag of the victim’s belongings that were concealed in some brush in the area. K9 Sly’s track eventually led Officers to a trailer park located at 5801 North Coast Highway.
During the investigation, Officers learned one of the victims’ credit cards had been used at two different stores in Newport during the same timeframe as this investigation. From store surveillance footage, Officers were able to positively identify the suspect who used the victim’s credit card as Eddy Lee Brown, a 55-year-old Newport resident. Officers located Brown’s vehicle at a residence within the trailer park located at 5801 North Coast Highway, where K9 Sly had tracked to. Brown was contacted and arrested without incident. Brown was lodged at the Lincoln County Jail for Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle - Felony
Theft Ist Degree x2- Felony, Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle- Misdemeanor,
Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card- Misdemeanor, Identity Theft- Felony, Computer Crimes- Felony.
This was the first criminal capture for K9 Sly since being placed into service two weeks ago. K9 Sly also helped locate a missing elderly person in the Newport area during his first week of being a Newport Police K9 Officer. The incident remains under investigation. If you have any information regarding this case, please contact Officer Jerimiah Mangum of the Newport Police Department at 541-574-3348. The Newport Police Tip Line is available at 541-574-5455, or Text-a-Tip at 541-270-1856 or tipline@newportpolice.net.
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