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E-FILED

IN COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE


PIERCE COUNTY, WASHINGTON
June 02 2015 9:12 AM

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SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR PIERCE COUNTY


STATE OF WASHINGTON,
Plaintiff,

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KEVIN STOCK
COUNTY CLERK

CAUSE NO. 15-1-02149-6

vs.
CHRISTOPHER ROBERT KAUL,

DECLARATION FOR DETERMINATION OF


PROBABLE CAUSE

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Defendant.

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SCOTT R. PETERS, declares under penalty of perjury:

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That I am a deputy prosecuting attorney for Pierce County and I am familiar with the police
report and/or investigation conducted by the TACOMA POLICE DEPARTMENT, incident number
142690940;
That the police report and/or investigation provided me the following information;
That in Pierce County, Washington, on or about the 1st day of January, 2013, the defendant,
CHRISTOPHER ROBERT KAUL, did commit theft 1st degree and trafficking stolen property 1st degree
(3 counts).
The defendant was employed at the Chihuly warehouse in Tacoma between March of 2010 and
June of 2013 when he was fired.
In September of 2014, Chihuly employees were contacted by an art appraiser who had 2 paintings
and 3rd piece. The employee confirmed that these were Chihulys works but they were for sale and in fact
missing from their warehouse. The Chihuly Company then conducted an audit and found they had about
90 pieces missing at a value of $3,082,000.
The art appraiser got the 3 items from H. Outzen. Outzen had bought the items from J. Halstead
and Halstead had bought the items from the defendant. The three items were appraised and each painting
was worth $24,000 and the 3rd item was worth $30,000 for a total of $78,000. A representative from
Chihuly then contacted the defendant. The defendant denied stealing all the items that were missing but
did admit to stealing and selling the 3 items to Halstead.
Chihuly then contacted police to report the theft. The FBI took over the investigation. The FBI
contacted the defendant. The defendant admitted working at the Chihuly warehouse between 2010 and
2013. The defendant said that during that time he was fighting a pill addiction and was not going to work
on a regular basis and was eventually fired because of this problem. The defendant said at some point he
went to treatment for his pill addiction but had a relapse about a month later. He said that when he
relapsed he started stealing items from the Chihuly warehouse. The defendant said he finished treatment
in September 2012 and the theft started around October 2012. The defendant said that he would take
items that he believed would go unnoticed. The defendant said he would take items and then sell them or
trade them for drugs to support his habit. The FBI noted that the organization at the warehouse was
horrible and inventory control was lax.
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he defendant admitted to selling items to people by telling them he worked at Chihuly and was
able to get an employee discount on items. The defendant admitted selling numerous items to Halstead in
order to get money for pills (count 2). Halstead would later return these items to Chihuly. The defendant
also admitted selling stolen items to J. Horman in exchange for drugs (count 3). The defendant also
DECLARATION FOR DETERMINATION
OF PROBABLE CAUSE -1

Office of the Prosecuting Attorney


930 Tacoma Avenue South, Room 946
Tacoma, WA 98402-2171
Main Office (253) 798-7400

15-1-02149-6

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admitted selling stolen items to E. Kocott in exchange for money which he used for pills (count 4).
During the time the FBI was investigating, Chihuly hired a private investigator to recover the stolen art
work. The private investigator was able to recover 40 stolen Chihuly items from E. Kocotts residence.
Additional charges maybe added.
I DECLARE UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON THAT THE FOREGOING IS TRUE AND CORRECT.
DATED: June 2, 2015
PLACE: TACOMA, WA

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/s/ SCOTT R. PETERS
SCOTT R. PETERS, WSB# 35469

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DECLARATION FOR DETERMINATION
OF PROBABLE CAUSE -2

Office of the Prosecuting Attorney


930 Tacoma Avenue South, Room 946
Tacoma, WA 98402-2171
Main Office (253) 798-7400

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