Originally published December 14, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified December 14, 2007 at 1:32 PM
Suspected thief in Idaho caught — on the frontpage
Police didn't have to look far to find a man suspected of stealing a woman's wallet — just an inch down the page. On the front page...
LEWISTON, Idaho — Police didn't have to look far to find a man suspected of stealing a woman's wallet — just an inch down the page.
On the front page of its Thursday edition, The Lewiston Tribune ran a photo of a man in a blue and black checkered coat standing in a convenience store. The photo was taken from the store's surveillance video, which reportedly shows the man slipping the wallet in his coat pocket and walking away. The picture of the possible purloiner ran along with a story explaining that a woman had forgotten her wallet at the store, and that police were now trying to identify the man in the video.
Also on the front page ran a festive photo of a holiday scene taken by the newspaper's photographer, Kyle Mills. That photo showed a man — in a blue and black coat — painting decorative Christmas greetings on storefront windows. The caption identified the man as Michael Millhouse of Millhouse Signs in Lewiston.
Some sharp-eyed copy editors at the newspaper first noticed the matching photos as they were laying out the newspaper Wednesday night and wondered if they showed the same man, managing editor Paul Emerson said Thursday.
"They were pointing it out and laughing about it," Emerson said.
A newspaper employee called the nearby Clarkston, Wash., police department early the next morning to report their suspicions.
Police Chief Joel Hastings said that after picking up a copy of the paper, Officer Jeremy Maguire contacted Millhouse and asked about the wallet. Millhouse was subsequently arrested and charged with felony second-degree theft. He is scheduled for a hearing on Monday, Asotin County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Nichols said, and he was released from custody after posting $5,000 bond.
Nichols said Thursday that it wasn't a simple case of finders, keepers.
"We've got a signed, written confession from him where he says, 'What I did was wrong, it was stupid,' blah, blah blah," Nichols said.
Police also located the wallet, which still contained the owner Jami Johnson's driver's license and three credit cards. But Johnson says $600 in cash — money from her paycheck that she planned to use for Christmas — was missing.
If convicted, Millhouse could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined up to $10,000.
The only phone listing for M. Millhouse in the region is an unlisted number, and The Associated Press could not reach Millhouse for comment.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Illegal workers quietly let go
Metro won't cut bus service after all
Jerry Large: Food-bank theft turns into a gift
Bumper to Bumper: How can the city let bridges go dark?
NEW - 01:26 AM
Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Husky Men's Basketball Blog | Saturday's Pac-10 games in review
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
134 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
129 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
123 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
122 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Prosecutor requests life in prison for Amanda Knox
89 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
83 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
63 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
54
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Protect yourself from baggage loss
- Northwest Living | On Whidbey, a unified home from multiple recycled parts
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'





