A homeless man who had been arrested five times in 2017 was caught in a woman’s house in the 300 block of East Seventh Street early Thanksgiving morning after he kicked in her front door.
When city police arrived, just two minutes after she called 911 at 4:50 a.m., they saw him just inside the front door wearing a military jacket.
The woman confirmed the jacket belonged to her son, who has two sets of uniforms in the house, said The Dalles Police Capt. Jamie Carrico.
Daniel Lee Wood III, 27, was booked into the regional jail on charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief, third degree theft, second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, second-degree criminal mischief, endangering the welfare of a minor and furnishing alcohol to a minor/intoxicated person.
Carrico said home invasions are rare in The Dalles.
Later, another officer found items by the woman’s vehicle that could indicate another crime. Carrico said an insulated grocery bag with the name of United Church of Christ on it was found in a truck parked in the woman’s driveway. Inside it were sobriety coins, Carrico said.
The church had some coins missing and also had damage to one of its doors, he said.
The second-degree burglary charge, second-degree theft and second-degree criminal mischief charges stem from the crimes at the church.
Carrico said the endangering charge and furnishing alcohol charge were not related to the home invasion or the crimes at the church.
The woman was so scared she told police it took her several attempts to call 911. The loud bang woke her up and she called police while hiding in a closet.
She told police she didn’t know the man who broke in and that he had no business being in her house.
She asked police to check throughout the house for any other people, and no one else was found inside the house.
The woman could not be reached for comment.
Wood was taken into custody without incident, Carrico said.
Wood was arrested in August for aggravated first-degree theft, and was arrested in mid-November on charges of first-degree failure to appear and third-degree escape.
He was arrested two days before Thanksgiving on charges of first-degree failure to appear and third-degree escape.
The evening before, a man at Community Meals in The Dalles called police to complain that Wood had stolen his cheeseburger.
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