Police say Vancouver man admits stealing six travel trailers

A Vancouver man accused of stealing almost $200,000 worth of travel trailers from Brush Prairie and Sunnyside storage facilities appeared Wednesday morning in Clark County Superior Court.

Omar Velazquez, 31, was arrested on suspicion of six counts each of first-degree theft and second-degree burglary.

Judge Suzan Clark set his bail at $50,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 27.

The Portland Police Bureau arrested Velazquez in June and said he was driving a Dodge Ram pickup that had been reported stolen out of Hillsboro, Ore. He was also hauling a stolen Forest River Wildcat travel trailer valued at $45,000, according to a probable cause affidavit. The Portland agency contacted the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, which had taken a report in May about the trailer stolen from NW Self Storage in Brush Prairie.

According to the police reports, Velazquez can be seen on surveillance video using the pickup to steal six travel trailers with values of at least $25,000. The thefts at Padden Storage in the Sunnyside neighborhood and NW Self Storage were reported between April 20 and June 16, the affidavit states.

One of the trailers reported stolen in June from Padden Storage was found near Delta Park in north Portland later that month, court records state.

During police interviews, Velazquez admitted to stealing each of the trailers, according to the affidavit.

He told police someone gave him the passcode to a secured lot at Padden Storage to steal a 2021 Grand Design Transcend, which was valued at $30,000, in May in exchange for money.

Court records state the only trailer not recovered was the Grand Design Transcend.