Stolen granite counter tops returned to Bend business

A weekend raid on a Deschutes River Woods home turned up several stolen granite counter tops, taken from Bend’s Rock Hard Granite in December.

Manager Percy Larson said Monday he was surprised anyone would steal the heavy items, and the suspects have no ties to the business.

Larson said the material is not locked up and is kept out behind the store for customer viewing, but the stones’ size and weight make them a difficult item to simply take. He said theft has never been an issue before.

“They were quartzite material, three pieces, weighed between 200 and 400 pounds (each),” Larson said.

Larson also provided NewsChannel 21 with security footage of the theft.

“It was dark, at night — about 12:30, 1 o’clock in the morning, and it looked like a minivan from what I could tell. We couldn’t see the driver because it was dark inside and two guys loading up,” he said.

Larson said the Bend Police Department was able to locate the suspects because the vehicle’s license plate was visible in the video. Police raided and searched a home on Manzanita Lane around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, and found the stone slabs.

Nicholas Butler, 34, Joshua Robichaud, 43, and Sharon Peterson, 61, were arrested by citation and charged with second-degree theft. Butler and Peterson also were charged with meth possession, while Butler also was charged with heroin possession. Three other people on the scene were arrested on probation violation our outstanding warrants.

Lt. Clint Burleigh said stone counter tops are an unusual item to steal, but this type of crime does happen.

“These investigations are unique. We’re talking about some slabs that are very unique to take. What the officers investigating found is the people who had stolen the slabs were actually intending on using those in their residence,” Burleigh said.

The police returned the recovered counter tops to Rock Hard Granite on Monday.