Hermiston Thief Picks Up his 22nd Arrest, Priors for Drugs, Theft

A man well known to Hermiston and Pendleton authorities is back in jail after being busted for what's believed to possibly be a theft ring.

Back in December, a Pendleton resident reported the theft of a number of expensive tools from his vehicle. He was able to supply detailed information about them. Then last week an alert detective spotted the tools on sale by way of a popular local-regional online sale site.

Over the weekend Hermiston police arrested 35-year-old Dustin Sanders of Hermiston after a sting operation set him up to sell the tools to someone he thought was NOT a cop.

Turns out, this is his 22nd arrest; he has 21 priors. They range from computer crime (using the internet to sell stolen goods), theft, drugs, failure to appear, contempt of court and more. While most of you are obviously wondering why he's not in the 3-Rivers Prison on a 3-strikes deal, the bulk of his crimes have been misdemeanors. Maybe it's time to ratchet that up a bit, huh?

No other information was released as this is still part of an ongoing investigation.