Community Police & Fire
Suspect arrested in nine Gig Harbor commercial burglaries
Law enforcement arrested a suspect in at least nine commercial burglaries in Gig Harbor, and potentially dozens in the wider region, in Oregon on Wednesday, Feb. 22, according to Gig Harbor police.
Police identified the suspect as Gary Michael Moyer, 36, of Port Orchard. Kitsap County issued a $1 million felony warrant for Moyer earlier this month for a variety of alleged crimes, including burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft.
Gary Michael Moyer
Pierce County officials expect to extradite Moyer from Oregon to face charges here as soon as possible.
Search of Port Orchard home
The statement from Gig Harbor Police said that officers from several agencies served a search warrant at a home in Port Orchard early on the morning of Feb. 22.
“This resulted in the recovery of a large amount of stolen property and other evidence of criminal activity,” according to the GHPD statement.
Officers located Moyer in Eugene, Oregon. He fled from Oregon law enforcement who attempted to arrest him. A Eugene Police SWAT team later took him into custody.
Kitsap County prosecutors charged Moyer with the theft of an ATM from a Chase Bank in Port Orchard on Dec. 12, 2022. He also was charged with theft of an Amazon delivery van in Port Orchard on Nov. 21. In the earlier Kitsap County crimes, he was released after posting $500,000 bail.
The Gig Harbor police statement notes that Moyer routinely fled from police investigating burglaries, often in a stolen vehicle. Current state law prohibits law enforcement from vehicular pursuit of burglary suspects.
Agencies that collaborated on apprehending Moyer included the Mason and Kitsap county sheriff’s offices; police departments from the cities of Gig Harbor, Bremerton, Poulsbo and Port Orchard; and a number of federal agencies, including Homeland Security, the FBU, Customs and Border Patrol, the DEA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
HUGE arrest led by GHPD Detectives. Great cooperation from all agencies involved. pic.twitter.com/EUcayPCs5s
— Gig Harbor Police (@GigHarborPolice) February 22, 2023