Vancouver man appears in court in theft of antique samplers

A Vancouver man appeared Thursday on allegations he broke into a woman’s home, pepper-sprayed her and stole more than $30,000 in antique items.

Robert Wallace Hunt, 34, appeared on suspicion of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, third-degree assault and two counts of first-degree theft. His bail was set at $250,000. He entered not-guilty pleas to all of the charges.

At roughly 5:30 a.m. Nov. 24, Hunt used a rock to smash a window in the loft of a home in Vancouver’s Riverview neighborhood, according to a probable cause affidavit. After entering the house, Wallace pepper-sprayed a 70-year-old woman, who was in her bedroom and on the phone with emergency dispatchers, the affidavit said.

As the woman screamed into the phone, experiencing difficulty breathing and speaking, Hunt stole two antique samplers, according to the affidavit. The samplers, multicolored works of cross-stitching with words, pictures and geometric designs dating back to around the 1700s, are valued at more than $30,000. Hunt also stole an iPhone but dropped it as he fled the home, the affidavit said.

Video surveillance near the front door of the home showed a man matching Hunt’s description holding a can of pepper spray, according to the affidavit.

A couple of weeks later, Hunt gave his sister one of the antique samplers as a Christmas gift, but she became suspicious after he asked her if she had looked up the item, according to the affidavit. Then, after searching online for the sampler, she apparently came across a news story asking the public to watch for the stolen items and contacted Vancouver police, the affidavit said.

Detectives saw texts between Hunt and his sister dated Jan. 12 in which he chastised her for not contacting him and expressed suspicion toward her, the affidavit said.

“Have you done anything with that pic?” one of the texts read, according to the affidavit. “Did you turn it in?”

An arrest warrant was issued Jan. 17 for Hunt before he was taken into custody Sunday night. Hunt’s trial is slated for March 18.