Suspects Identified in Spree of Vehicle Prowls, Credit Card Fraud

A Tacoma woman is facing about 11 criminal charges related to at least five vehicle prowls and subsequent fraudulent use of credit cards stolen in the incidents. 

Lindsey Marie Young, 35, was arrested last week and booked into the Lewis County Jail on charges including unlawful factoring of a credit card, first-degree vehicle prowl and possession of stolen property. 

She made her first appearance Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court, where deputy prosecutor Brad Meagher asked for her to be held without bail over the weekend, pending a formal decision on charges on Monday afternoon. 

Superior Court Judge James Lawler granted the request. Young is scheduled to be back in Lewis County Superior Court Monday at 4 p.m., after The Chronicle’s press time. 

A second suspect, Brian Jason Baker, 36, of Rochester, was charged Friday in Lewis County Superior Court with three counts of second-degree possession of stolen property. 

According to court documents, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded on Nov. 3 to a report of a vehicle prowl of a car at the Willapa Hills Trail parking lot in Chehalis. The car’s windows were broken and a purse was taken, containing a wallet with credit cards. 

Later in the day, the owner of the credit cards reported a number of fraudulent transactions in the Chehalis area. The victim reported her mother’s purse, also in the car, was also stolen and credit cards were used fraudulently throughout Lewis County. 

Video surveillance showed a woman attempting to use one of the stolen credit cards, according to court documents. 

The investigation linked a vehicle to the suspects, which was traced on Nov. 21 to a Centralia motel. When deputies arrived, Baker answered the door, and deputies reported finding items taken from the vehicle, suspected methamphetamine and broken spark plugs, which can be used to break car windows, according to court documents. 

Young was also in the hotel room, according to court documents, and told deputies Baker was “just the driver for her.”

According to court documents, Young is also suspected in vehicle prowls on Oct. 27, two on Oct. 28, and Nov. 13 in the 900 block of Hillenburger Road, along the Willapa Hills Trail, and on Nov. 17 at another location in Chehalis. In several of the instances, credit cards were stolen and later used in Lewis County. 

Baker was granted $50,000 bail and is being held in the Lewis County Jail. He is also facing charges of possession of stolen property in Thurston County.