Jan. 10, 2023 - The Florence Police Department (FPD) announced Tuesday (Jan. 10) that an arrest was made in the case of a string of vehicle break-ins over the weekend, with several reported stolen items being recovered.  

On Jan. 8, FPD received reports of car windows being smashed and personal items stolen from three separate vehicles, one located at Rite-Aid, and another two on the 2100 block of Spruce Street.

Officers were able to obtain images of a possible suspect vehicle from a location near one of the incidents and began searching for the vehicle. 

As FPD investigated, officers became aware of two more vehicles that were broken into at Bender Landing on North Fork Siuslaw Road. 

Police contacted those victims to obtain descriptions of what was stolen.

“While searching for the suspect vehicle, officers observed a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle located at the Three Rivers Casino parking lot,” FPD reported. “Officers were able to determine that the vehicle contained property stolen from the earlier incidents and that the car was the suspect vehicle.”

With the assistance of casino security personnel, officers were able to identify three subjects who had entered the casino and had arrived in the suspect vehicle. 

“Officers made contact with the three subjects and they were all detained,” FPD reported. “After an investigation, officers arrested one of the subjects, John [Allen] McClatchey.”

McClatchey, of Eugene, was charged with several counts of Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle and Theft II.

FPD was able to recover a large amount of the stolen property from all of the reported incidents.

The case remains under investigation.