A 19-year-old Battle Ground woman has been arrested in connection to a six-day crime spree across the city.
A press release June 6 announced the arrest of Sabrina Cox who is alleged to have committed crimes of vehicle prowling, theft and robbery. The city statement noted that during the spree there were at least 17 victims with 20 vehicles prowled and four stolen. Stolen credit/debit cards were used eight times.
Cox had her first appearance in Clark County Superior Court June 7, according to county jail information.
According to a probable cause affidavit for Cox’s arrest, there were at least eight reported auto prowls on the night of May 27 and early morning May 28, focused around the 200 block of Northeast Clark Avenue. The affidavit stated that three individuals were walking in the area around 2 a.m. May 28 where they were almost hit by a car, reported to have been driven by Cox.
Cox was an acquaintance of the three individuals who spoke to the suspect after she parked next to the former Rancho Viejo Sports Bar on Southeast 1st Street, according to the affidavit. Cox reportedly told the individuals about unlocked cars in the area but the individuals did not want to get involved.
A vehicle stolen in one of the prowls was found in the 10000 block of Northeast 187th Street at about 9 a.m. May 28, parked in a ditch and marked as abandoned by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, according to the affidavit. Inside the vehicle was property belonging to a number of other vehicle prowl victims, including a handwritten note that referenced Cox’s first name.
The following day six additional vehicles were reported to have been prowled in the Crystal Springs neighborhood early that morning, according to the affidavit, with multiple items including debit and credit cards stolen. At about 5 a.m. a victim was assaulted as he attempted to remove a male from stealing his vehicle. A female was mentioned to be with the male suspect who fled.
At about 7 a.m. Cox was spotted at the Chevron on East Main Street, seen on camera pumping gas into a stolen truck, according to the affidavit. About an hour later the truck was called in as a suspicious vehicle at Hockinson Meadows Community Park outside of city limits, as a male was reportedly seen moving property from the truck into another vehicle.
At about 9:30 a.m. an emergency call came in reporting belongings dumped at Hockinson Meadows’ parking lot, later identified as being items from a previously reported carjacking. Shortly thereafter a reportedly stolen credit card was used at a Walmart in Wood Ridge, Oregon, by an individual recognized as Cox, according to the affidavit.
At about noon the stolen truck was located at the park in a different position than when initially reported as suspicious, according to the affidavit, with property from the previous vehicle prowls found inside.
On June 2 Cox was arrested by Camas Police Department officers, according to the affidavit. A stolen phone turned over June 5 had evidence that Cox had used it as well as messages implicating her in the crimes.
The Battle Ground Police Department reminded residents to lock their cars and remove valuables from unattended vehicles in order to prevent crimes such as those alleged in the spree. The department thanked both the Camas Police Department and the Portland Police Bureau for their help in investigating the spree, as well as citizens and businesses who provided tips and evidence.
“Without community support and agency partnerships, cases like this often go unsolved,” the release stated.
