Bell heralds break in theft case

TACOMA -- The return of a 3,000-pound copper bell that was stolen from a Vietnamese Buddhist temple three years ago has resulted in a major stolen goods arrest, Pierce County sheriff's deputies say.

In the case of Robert L. Hunter Jr., 40, of the Graham area, "there's nothing that's going to surprise us if we find it," sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said Thursday.

Investigators have recovered nine guns, some of them stolen, as well as six stolen cars, two stolen tow trucks, a stolen tractor, two stolen flatbed trucks, new car engines in wooden crates, some eagle talons, an eagle's head and four cases of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making methamphetamine.

Hunter was arrested Wednesday by a special weapons and tactics team and pleaded not guilty Thursday to possession of stolen property and nine counts of unlawful firearms possession. He remained in jail Friday with bail set at $30,000.

Troyer said the investigation that led to the arrest of Hunter began with the return of a 5-foot copper bell to a Buddhist temple in 2006.

According to court filings, a man told a state Department of Fish and Wildlife officer on Nov. 20, 2006, he had bought a storage unit in Puyallup at auction, then was approached by Hunter, who said everything belonged to him, offering more than $500 for the contents.

The buyer declined, the bell was returned, and state wildlife agents and sheriff's deputies traced Hunter to the storage unit and began serving search warrants, most recently this week on property where Hunter had been living, Troyer said.