Vancouver man who stored stolen goods gets prison time

A Vancouver man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison for possessing more than $50,000 in stolen property.

Superior Court Judge Derek Vanderwood read off a list of stolen items including high-end bicycles, electronics and power tools — all stored by Dustin P. Medeiros in an east Vancouver storage unit, court documents said.

The 30-year-old pleaded guilty Wednesday to 25 counts stemming from the large-scale stolen property case. The sentence for each count will run concurrently, with the longest sentence being five years. He has credit for 34 days served in the Clark County Jail.

Detectives with the Vancouver Police Department served a search warrant last month on a storage unit, where they found stolen goods. Medeiros was listed as the renter of the unit. Police then served a second search warrant on his vehicle.

In total, the items filled two U-Haul trucks and two vans, said Sgt. Steve Dobbs. The case consumed hundreds of staff and volunteer hours because of the sheer volume of items involved. The police agency posted pictures of the items on its website in hopes of reuniting the objects with their rightful owners.

Defense Attorney Steven Rucker said that Medeiros knew what he did was wrong and owned up to it. Rucker said that his client will get drug treatment and education while in prison. Rucker said Medeiros has a problem with methamphetamine, and Medeiros said he has been unemployed for about 18 months.

“I’m sorry to the city and all of the victims,” Medeiros said during the sentencing.

In addition to prison time, he’s not allowed to contact the identified victims for 10 years.