Felon accused in gasoline theft also charged with unlawful firearm

A convicted felon was charged with an additional crime after police found a shotgun in his possession as he was allegedly stealing gas from a truck rental in Olympia.

A document from the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney dated March 11 indicated that Ronnie James Beeler, 46, of Yakima, was charged with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

The document stated that Beeler knowingly had a shotgun in his possession despite having lost the right to own a firearm when he was previously convicted of a previous first-degree robbery with a deadly weapon.

Olympia police arrested Beeler on March 9 after an officer noticed his vehicle in a dark and unlit section of the U-Haul Truck Rental on Harrison Avenue in Olympia.

The officer said he was on his way to respond to a different report of a suspicious vehicle when he noticed a person, wearing dark clothing with their hood up, grabbing a large yellow container.

“At this point, my suspicion that a gas theft or catalytic converter theft was imminent was all but confirmed,” the officer wrote in his report.

Police approached the suspect, identified as Beeler, who immediately apologized and admitted to stealing gas. He told officers that his truck had run out of gas, and he wanted just enough to avoid getting stranded.

Officers noted a red can next to a U-Haul truck that had its gas cap off, as well as a large yellow container and a clear tube in Beeler’s truck.

Police also found a pistol-grip shotgun in Beeler’s vehicle. Police reported that the suspect claimed that the shotgun was his girlfriend’s, stressing that he was not allowed to have a gun because he is a convicted felon. He was unable to explain why the weapon was in his possession.

Authorities confirmed that Beeler is a felon and arrested him for theft and unlawful possession of a firearm.

A search of Beeler yielded several knives, two plastic bags with a white, crystalline substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine, and a glass pipe.