Man charged with thefts, killing vicitms' dog

A Portland man has been charged with six crimes ranging from killing a pet animal, a misdemeanor, to residential burglary and third degree theft, both felonies.

The man, Richard T. Stone, 39, will be arraigned Monday in Wahkiakum Superior Court.

Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Department officers arrested Stone last Thursday after responding to a report of a theft at a Rosedale business. A store owner reported that a man had stolen some wine and gone to a nearby business whose owner asked him to leave. The man sped off in a pickup, and the owners reported the theft to the sheriff's department.

Deputies found Stone's pickup abandoned in West Valley along SR 4 at the foot of KM Mountain. After checking it, they continued west toward Naselle, thinking Stone might have hitched a ride. They returned to West Valley upon learning that a Washington State Trooper had observed a man acting strangely at the pickup.

The officers found Stone at the pickup, with one hand bleeding and wrapped up. He told them he had been bitten by a dog. Officers checked records and found that Stone had been released from the Multnomah County Jail in Portland. Stone was taken to a hospital for treatment of the hand; an officer stayed with him.

Another officer checked a nearby residence and observed an injured dog lying on the ground and windows broken out of the house. They contacted the owner through friends; one friend took the dog to a vet, where the animal died of blunt force trauma. When the owner arrived, he confirmed that someone had broken in, eaten food and drunk wine, and gone through the house causing extensive damage.

Officers charged Stone with 1. residential burglary, 2. malicious mischief in the second degree; 3. animal cruelty in the third degree; 4. killing of a pet animal; 5. and 6. two counts of theft in the third degree. Bail was set at $100,000.