Alert neighbor turns heat on burglars near Buena

BUENA, Wash. — An alert neighbor stopped the theft of an air conditioner from a home north of Buena on Monday night, Yakima County sheriff’s officials say.

Deputies say they arrested a man and a woman shortly after 8 p.m. at Buena Bill’s tavern in Buena after the victim followed them there from his home at 30 White Road.

 One of the victim’s neighbors called him after noticing that the air conditioner had been pulled out. The suspects — a 37-year-old Buena woman and a 33-year-old Toppenish man — were standing outside the home, according to a news release by Sgt. Bill Splawn.

The victim called the sheriff’s office and then followed the suspects’ vehicle.

They were arrested on suspicion of burglarizing the home.

Splawn said the incident demonstrates how alert residents can cooperate with police to catch criminals.

The sheriff’s office works with neighborhoods across the county to establish block watch programs.

National Night Out, the annual event highlighting the benefits of block watches and other crime prevention efforts, takes place Tuesday at various locations in Yakima and elsewhere in the county.

— Mark Morey