Man arrested in burglary at assisted-living center

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man was arrested early Friday morning in connection with an alleged break-in at a senior living facility and theft of a resident’s jewelry, according to local law enforcement.

Gary Dominguez was charged with residential burglary and third-degree theft after being arrested around 6 a.m. Friday. He was released from jail the same day due to coronavirus restrictions on the jail, police logs show.

Police were notified at 1:22 a.m. Friday of an alarm set off at Brookdale Hearthstone, a Moses Lake assisted-living center. Staff reported seeing a suspect walking away from the building after the alarm went off and then fleeing the scene on a bicycle.

Brookdale Hearthstone staff claimed that the suspect had entered the building through a resident’s window and was encountered by the 95-year-old resident as the suspect was rummaging through the resident’s jewelry. When confronted by the resident, the suspect reportedly fled the room, tripping the building’s alarm system, according to the police report.

Though police unsuccessfully attempted to track the suspect using a K-9 unit, he was identified using surveillance footage from an alleged prowling of a vehicle in a church parking lot a week prior.

Officers located Dominguez a few hours later and booked him in the burglary case. Officers reportedly recovered stolen jewelry when Dominguez was arrested.

However, Dominguez was released from jail only hours later. Police were notified later in the day that Dominguez had been seen near the city library, as the callers believed police were still attempting to locate him, according to police logs.