PORTLAND, Ore. — A man accused of stealing thousands of respirator masks from a Portland business was arrested Saturday, according to police.
Some of the stolen masks have been recovered and returned to the victim, who police say immediately donated the returned masks to local hospitals to help with the coronavirus outbreak.
Police say 20-25 cases of N95 respirator masks were stolen Friday from The ReBuilding Center, located at 3625 North Mississippi Avenue in Portland. Each case had 400 masks and the total loss was estimated to be nearly $2,500.
The victim noticed an ad on Craiglist on Saturday for what she believed were the stolen masks. She set up a meeting with the seller and contacted Beaverton police.
Officers showed up for the meeting and arrested the suspect, 42-year-old Vladislav V. Drozdek of Beaverton. He's being held in the Washington County jail and faces a first-degree theft charge. Police said further arrests and charges are possible.
About six of the cases of masks were initially recovered and later Saturday, Portland police officers found at least seven more cases inside a house in the 13900 block of Northeast Sacramento Street.
Police returned the cases to the victim and she donated them to local hospitals.