A man accused of breaking into the vacant First Street Grocery Store in Centralia in October has been arrested.
Bail is set at $20,000 for Jonathan Patrick Church, 32, of Centralia.
He was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at approximately 11:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, for one count of second-degree burglary and one count of third-degree theft.
Two unidentified suspects, one of whom was later identified as Church, were reportedly seen fleeing from the First Street Grocery Store on Oct. 24 with stolen items in their arms, according to court documents.
They reportedly got into a vehicle and fled the scene.
Officers with the Centralia Police Department were reportedly able to use a photo of the suspect vehicle’s license plate to search the Flock Safety camera system, which led to an officer locating Church and his vehicle.
The officer who contacted Church reportedly “told Church that if he was honest, he would not arrest Church right away,” according to court documents.
Church allegedly admitted to breaking into the vacant store and to taking items, which he said were inside the vehicle, and gave the officer permission to search the vehicle.
Church was charged in Lewis County Superior Court on Nov. 20. His arraignment was scheduled for Dec. 11.
