Three arrested in burglary of dead man

King County detectives have arrested three men in the theft case of a man who lay dead on the floor as his house was ransacked. Investigators made the arrests after spotting Leonard Werner's missing PT Cruiser under a tarp on a property in South Park. A search of the property turned up some of the items that had been taken from Werner's home, investigators said. Detectives were told of a storage warehouse at South 178th and Des Moines where they found Werner's other missing car, a 2002 Dodge Ram. A family member discovered Werner's remains in the basement of his home. Werner, 69, lay dead under a blanket someone had put over him. Investigators suspect Werner's next-door neighbors of ransacking the home, stealing everything from a washer and dryer to crystal ornaments. They believe the suspects stole the items over several nights, using the backyard to stay out of view and moving items underneath the chain link fence. A number of stolen items were recovered at the neighbors' home, police said. Detectives say they've served several warrants on the neighbor's home over the years, but would not say why.

Pickup slams into WSP car

A Washington State Patrol trooper was uninjured when a vehicle driving down I-5 lost control and slammed into the officer's patrol car. Police said the crash happened during rush hour in Des Moines. Trooper John Pierce said his car was parked on the shoulder and he was outside checking on another vehicle when a pickup truck lost control and slammed into the side of the patrol car. Police said the crash happened when the pickup was cut off by another driver. No one was hurt and the driver of the pickup was not expected to be cited.

Car break-ins, vandalism, prowlers and thefts

15400 blk Des Moines Memorial Dr., 1100 blk S.W. 139th St., 12200 blk Ambaum Blvd. S., 1000 blk S.W. 137th St., 16500 blk 4th Ave. S., 1000 blk S.W. 151st St., 16400 blk 14th Ave. S.W., 600 blk S.W. 128th St., 1000 blk S.W. 158th St., 15600 blk 16th Ave. S.W., 15800 blk 4th Ave. S., 16000 blk 6th Ave. S.W., 12800 blk 12th S., 15700 blk 13th Ave. S.W., 1900 blk S.W. 1654th St., 15700 blk 14th Ave. S.W., 3000 blk S. 150th St., 1400 blk S.W. 116th St., 11800 blk 26th Ave. S., 400 blk S.W. Ambaum Blvd. S., 200 blk S. 152nd, 11800 blk 4th Ave. S.