A Glenoma man faces felony charges after he allegedly tried to sell a stolen welder generator on Facebook Marketplace.
Kaalub R. Kuhn, 32, made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on April 24 for one count each of first-degree possessing stolen property and first-degree trafficking in stolen property, both punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
A judge set Kuhn’s bail at $15,000 cash or bond.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson said during the hearing that Kuhn could face additional burglary charges in Pierce County related to the alleged theft.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) began investigating the case on April 20 after a man reported that a welder generator stolen out of Pierce County was listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
The welder generator had been stolen from a Safety-Kleen warehouse in February.
“I paid $8,300 for this machine brand new not too long ago,” the ad reportedly read. “The machine only has 118 hours on it. Price is Firm. Open to some trades with cash. Machine only. Added some new photos everything for 7,500 or machine only for 7,000 priced to sell."
According to the affidavit, the ad, which was linked to Kuhn, “indicated the seller was located in Glenoma.”
Photographs of the welder generator reportedly included a fire extinguisher that was also stolen.
“In the photographs of the machine, there was (a) reflection of the person taking the photographs that showed the person's tattoos that were consistent with Kaalub Kuhn,” the affidavit says.
LCSO collaborated with the Tacoma Police Department and received photographs of the vehicle used in the theft, which reportedly corroborated the warehouse facility manager’s account of a white Chevrolet pickup truck that had come to the warehouse on Feb. 7 and Feb. 14.
“In the video surveillance, the truck entered the property and can be seen leaving a few minutes later with the welder/generator,” the affidavit says.
Deputies identified the truck as being registered to Kuhn’s mother and executed a search warrant on the family home, where they contacted Kuhn.
According to the affidavit, Kuhn allegedly said the welder generator was located inside a shop on the property and that “he bought it from a friend for $4,000 about two months ago and was now trying to sell it because he needed money.”
Kuhn allegedly said he did not know the equipment was stolen.
When questioned about the truck seen in the surveillance video, Kuhn allegedly “claimed no knowledge or information about this,” according to the affidavit.
Deputies searched the shop and located the stolen welder generator and fire extinguisher.
Following his arrest, Kuhn allegedly said “that the friend who sold him the equipment had borrowed the pickup truck two months ago in Tacoma,” but “would not provide any information about the friend or give a description,” according to the affidavit.
“He said the friend borrowed the truck one time and his friend came back with the truck an hour or two later,” the affidavit says. “He said he did not observe a welder in the bed of the truck.”
Deputies pressed further.
Kuhn then reportedly displayed his tattoos and indicated he “couldn’t snitch” because of his gang and prison affiliations.
Deputies booked Kuhn into the Lewis County Jail at about 1:37 p.m. April 23.
“This arrest and the recovery of stolen property reflect the strength of collaboration and clear communication across county lines,” LCSO said in a news release about an hour later.
According to court documents, Kuhn’s criminal history includes convictions for second-degree identity theft, taking a motor vehicle without owner permission, first-degree possession of stolen property, third-degree assault and first-degree criminal trespass, among other offenses.
Kuhn has had 11 prior warrants issued for his arrest.
He is scheduled for an arraignment on April 30.
