Convicted Burglar From Bucoda Faces Additional Charges

A convicted burglar from Bucoda serving a prison sentence at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center was in Lewis County this week to face charges for a string of 2014 burglaries. 

Curtis William Hoffman, 37, was charged Friday in Lewis County Superior Court with three counts of residential burglary and one count of attempted residential burglary, all stemming from crimes reported in Lewis County in 2014.

Hoffman has four years left to serve on a sentence for a residential burglary conviction, Lewis County Prosecutor Sheila Weirth told the court Friday. While noting Hoffman is incarcerated, Weirth asked Superior Court Judge James Lawler to impose $50,000 bail to keep Hoffman in Lewis County while these charges are pending. 

Lawler agreed and imposed the bail amount. 

Investigators learned of Hoffman’s alleged involvement in these cases with the help of another burglary suspect, Robert Collins, who has informed detectives about a number of burglaries in Lewis County dating back to 2014, according to court documents. 

Hoffman’s four charges refer to four separate incidents in July, 2014, according to court documents. 

On July 8, 2014, a deputy from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a burglary in the 2300 block of state Route 603 in Winlock. 

The homeowner reported that when she returned to her home that evening after being gone all day, she saw that someone pried open the door and rummaged through her belongings, according to court documents. 

Items taken included check books, jewelry and cameras. After canvassing the areas, deputies were not able to come up with a suspect.

On July 23, deputies responded to the 100 block of Blanchard Road in Centralia after receiving a report of a burglary. The homeowner reported she returned home at 3 p.m. to find the house had been burglarized. A Colt .357 gun, Apple iPad, two coffee cans full of change and jewelry had been taken. 

Later that day, the Sheriff’s Office responded to another burglary, this time in the 100 block of Summerside Drive in Centralia. 

The homeowner returned home at 10:40 p.m. to find that someone forced their way into the home and stole an Apple computer, camera, Xbox 360 and jewelry were stolen. 

Again, deputies had no leads on a suspect. 

Finally, on July 25, deputies responded to a reported burglary in the 3900 block of Cooks Hill Road in Centralia. The homeowner reported that someone stole a box containing a spare key to the residence. Deputies did not find the box. 

In 2015, deputies spoke with Collins about a number of burglaries in Lewis County. Over the course of two days in October, deputies interviewed Collins. 

According to court documents, Collins would point to houses he burglarized and agreed to give investigators the names of people who helped him.

Collins told investigators he and Hoffman committed the burglaries in Winlock, Blanchard Road and Summerside Drive, and the attempted burglary on Cooks Hill Road, giving deputies detailed information about items taken at each location, according to court documents.

Hoffman was referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office for charges last year, and formally charged Friday.

Collins, who is currently an inmate at the Thurston County Jail, has entered guilty pleas to felony charges in Thurston County Superior Court, which include charges for some burglaries that occurred in Lewis County, according to court documents. He is awaiting sentencing. 

In addition to Hoffman, Collins has also led detectives to several other burglary suspects, according to court documents, including Janet L. Gleason, 42, of Centralia, who is accused of breaking into Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer’s home. Gleason has trials scheduled in April.

He also implicated Wesley L. Davis, 30, of Bucoda, in a burglary in December 2014 in Chehalis. Davis is scheduled to go to trial in May. 

Christopher G. Oberst, 42, of Olympia, was charged with nine counts of residential burglary, including the burglary of former Centralia Police Chief Bob Berg’s home, after Collins gave information to detectives. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear for a Feb. 25 trial confirmation hearing, according to Lewis County Superior Court records.