Battle Ground man faces charges in theft of travel-trailers valued at nearly $225K

A Battle Ground man is accused of stealing three travel-trailers with a combined value of nearly $225,000 from a storage area near Walnut Grove last week.

Matthew A. Scott, 39, appeared Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of three counts each of first-degree theft and second-degree burglary. His bail was set at $7,500, and he is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 7, court records show.

On Aug. 15, someone reported three trailers were stolen from Curtis Trailers’ storage area. The person had last been to the storage area Aug. 11, so officers determined the trailers were stolen sometime between those two dates, according to a probable cause affidavit.

An anonymous tipster reported to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office that Scott and another man rented U-Hauls and stole the trailers. The person said one of the trailers was at Scott’s house and another was at a house in Amboy, the affidavit states.

U-Haul confirmed to deputies that Scott’s acquaintance rented a pickup Aug. 12 and extended it to Aug. 16. The company also said Scott rented a box truck Aug. 15, court records state.

When deputies went to Scott’s house, they saw a brand new trailer parked on the street in front. The vehicle identification number returned as one of the stolen trailers. A neighbor told deputies that Scott told them he bought the trailer for $30,000. Scott told deputies a man he knows dropped off the trailer at his house and hadn’t come back for it; he wouldn’t tell deputies who the man was, according to the affidavit.

Deputies also found another trailer that matched the description of the stolen ones at the Amboy house. The man who lived there said Scott’s acquaintance asked him to store the trailer until he could find somewhere else for it. He said the man told him he leased the trailer, court records state.

Two of the three stolen trailers have been recovered, according to court records.