17-time felon arrested for robbery and weapon theft

LAKE MOSES — According to the Grant County Sheriff's Office, a person was arrested last Friday morning for suspected robbery and firearm theft. The suspect has 17 previous convictions.

On Friday, a group in the 4000 block of Circle Place Northeast in Moses Lake reported a suspicious person wearing a green sweatshirt and shorts in their yard around 7:20 a.m.

The reporter saw the suspect hiding a gun case in the bushes across from his house. Officers then discovered the gun case and two guns inside.

About 25 minutes later, a resident in the 8000 block of Cochran Road Northeast reported a burglary. The caller said he had just returned from breakfast when he saw a man in a green sweatshirt and shorts carrying a gun case out of his house. The homeowner said the screen to his bedroom had been cut.

The suspect, Tejay R. Beaty, 39, was spotted on Airway Drive Northeast and arrested. Beaty denied involvement in the incident, but changed his statement after being shown a screenshot of surveillance video. Beaty was booked into the Grant County Jail on charges of first-degree burglary, theft of a firearm and unlawful possession of a weapon.

According to the GCSO statement, a background check revealed that Beaty has 17 prior felony convictions, the last five of which are possession of stolen goods, first-degree theft, two counts of residential burglary and attempted escape.