Over the past three weeks, two women have been arrested together twice, each time in a U-Haul with stolen items and drugs.
On September 23, 2023, just after 7 a.m., deputies were called to SW Abercrombie Place and SW Berkshire Street in the Cedar Hills community. A person who lives in the area saw a woman get out of the passenger seat of a U-Haul van and break into a community mailbox. Another witness followed the U-Haul as it left the area.
Deputies found the U-Haul near SW Farmington Road and SW Watson Avenue in Beaverton, where they pulled it over with help from the Beaverton Police Department. Deputies learned the Arizona license plate was a forgery and had been printed onto a piece of sheet metal. The U-Haul was reported stolen in Portland earlier in September.
31-year-old Brandie Marie Jones Stone, of Portland, and 40-year-old Jessica Bryana Van Wechel, also of Portland, were quickly detained. Inside the U-Haul, deputies found stolen mail, burglary tools, and methamphetamine. Stone and Van Wechel both had warrants as well. Van Wechel, who was driving the U-Haul when police stopped it, also had heroin concealed on her person when she was brought to the jail.
Stone was arrested on the following charges:
- Possession of a stolen vehicle
- Mail theft
- Felony possession of methamphetamine
- Possession of burglary tools
- Criminal mischief in the second degree
- A Clackamas County warrant for failure to appear on a prior theft charge
Van Wechel was arrested on the following charges:
- Unlawful use of a motor vehicle
- Possession of a stolen vehicle
- Mail theft
- Forgery in the first degree
- Supplying contraband
- Two Washington County warrants for failure to appear on prior theft and trespassing charges
On September 2, 2023, around 12:45 a.m., deputies were called to the Safeway at 13485 NW Cornell Road. Stone and Van Wechel stole groceries and drove off in a U-Haul, before deputies found and arrested them nearby.
Deputies found stolen mail, fake IDs, fake credit cards, drugs, and a stolen gun in that U-Haul. Van Wechel was arrested for theft. Stone was arrested on the following charges:
- Three counts of identity theft
- Unlawful possession of a fake ID
- 15 counts of mail theft
- Misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine
- Theft in the second degree
- Three counts of providing false information to a peace officer
- Unlawful possession of a firearm
- Three Washington County warrants
Both incidents are still being investigated and additional charges are possible.
