Facebook helps find suspected tool thief

PULLMAN - Pullman police used social media to have the public identify a man stealing tools from Pullman Building Supply on May 18.

Store security shared surveillance video with Pullman police officer Shane Emerson. The video showed a man placing tool belts and power tools in a cart, leave the store without paying, and drive away in a green Subaru Impreza. The stolen items are worth $1,479.

Pullman police posted a photo of the suspect and the Subaru on their Facebook page. A follower responded by contacting the police and identifying the suspect, according to a police report.

Officers tracked the suspect's address to a rental house and served a search warrant. The suspect was found in a treehouse behind the home and arrested.

William M. Beaux, 30, of Colfax, was charged in Whitman County Superior Court on May 19 with theft in the second degree.