The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office made an arrest last week in a case involving more than half a dozen burglaries from businesses in the county.

Anna Kathleen Mullins, 36, was arrested in Tacoma on Aug. 8 for five counts of second-degree burglary, appearing in Grays Harbor Superior Court the next day. The sheriff’s office is still seeking an additional male suspect in the case, said Undersheriff Kevin Schrader.

The investigation began following the robberies of businesses in Oakville, Ocean Shores and the Pacific Beach area, where seven total businesses were hit.

“July 13 through the 15th is when the burglaries occurred. On the 15th we realized a bunch of the north beach burgs were related, based on the clothes the suspects were wearing and vehicles that were seen at each of the scenes,” Schrader said. “We were able to put the pieces together and figure out who the owner of the vehicle was and who our suspects were.”

Suspects targeted safes, stealing about $6,000, Schrader said, but doing much more value in damage as they forced entry into the businesses.

In several cases, suspects were stymied by safes that were too difficult to open, or too difficult to remove, Schrader said. The suspects primarily targeted retail or convenience stores and restaurants, Schrader said.

“We recovered some of the property,” Schrader said. “We occasionally get these where someone will come to the beach areas or the outlying areas and decide to partake in criminal behavior.”

The investigation is ongoing as the sheriff’s office works with other agencies outside the county to see if there were other incidents connected to the string of burglaries, Schrader said, as well as locating and arresting the second suspect.

Having working surveillance and alarm systems on-site can dissuade crimes of opportunity, Schrader said, as well as increasing the likelihood of catching a suspect and recovering stolen property in the event of a crime.

Schrader thanked the Ocean Shores and Hoquiam police departments for their assistance in investigating the crimes and identifying the suspect vehicle. There’s no ongoing threat to county businesses from suspects involved in this case, Schrader said.

The vehicle involved in the incidents was seized. Mullins’ bail was set at $15,000, an amount Schrader stated he found surprising and disappointing for its relatively low amount.

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.