A Washington man accused of stealing hundreds of oysters from a privately owned beach offered officers a shifting series of explanations, beginning with claims that he had taken nothing and ending with an admission that bags of oysters were hidden inside a trunk he repeatedly said could not be opened.
Bodycam footage shared by the YouTube channel Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife showed Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers investigating a report of trespassing and illegal shellfish harvesting. The channel’s host said the suspects turned off their vehicle lights and drove away at high speed when an officer tried to contact them.
By the end of the encounter, officers counted 329 oysters and forwarded possible charges for theft, trespassing, and harvesting a commercial-level quantity without a license to the Mason County Prosecutor’s Office.
Officer Questions a Sudden Departure
Officer Trader approached the vehicle and asked what the occupants had been doing with several buckets near the beach.
The male driver, who first gave his name as Joe before later identifying his legal first name as Jose, said he and a woman had planned to collect only a couple of oysters. He claimed they left after a man came outside and yelled at them.
“We booked,” he said.
When Trader asked to inspect the oysters, the man immediately denied having any.
“We didn’t get any,” he said.
The officer then asked whether either person had a shellfish license. Rather than giving a clear answer, the pair began searching for identification while offering details about a trip to visit an uncle whose legs had recently been amputated.
Trader also asked why the vehicle’s lights had gone dark before it pulled away. Jose claimed he had not intentionally turned them off and blamed faulty tail lights.
The excuses began piling up before officers had even inspected the car. Any one of them might have sounded possible by itself, but together they created the impression of someone trying to explain every suspicious detail before the investigation reached it.
The Trunk That Supposedly Could Not Open
Trader said he had seen buckets being placed in the trunk and asked Jose to open it.
Jose claimed the key was stuck in the ignition and could not be removed. He said the problem happened regularly and once left the key trapped for two days.
The officer asked whether there was an interior release, a spare key, or folding rear seats that could provide access. Jose said none of those options worked.
According to him, the trunk had essentially never opened, the back seats were locked in place, and the ignition had been replaced with a mismatched unit that regularly trapped the key.
At one point, he offered to break open his own trunk with a pry bar or crowbar, although the officers did not have one. Later, he suggested smashing a tail light and reaching through the opening.
“If that gets our problem resolved and I can go home,” he said, “I’ll figure out a way to get in there.”
His sudden willingness to damage the car was difficult to square with the earlier claim that nothing illegal was inside. The longer the trunk stayed shut, the clearer it became that the mechanical problem was serving as a delay rather than a genuine mystery.
Trader remained patient and repeatedly told him to keep working on the key.
“We’ve got time,” the officer said.
Story Changes After Officers Receive a Photo
While Jose continued struggling with the trunk, another officer received information from the property owner who had called authorities.
The reporting party had sent a photograph showing a bucket filled with oysters, along with a rake and shovel, near the place where the suspects’ car had been parked.
An officer summarized the situation plainly: whatever was in the trunk appeared to be illegal.
Soon afterward, Jose abandoned his original claim that there were no oysters.
“Are there oysters back here?” an officer asked.
“Yes, there is,” Jose admitted.
He then offered a new explanation. Jose claimed he had seen three unknown people run away after leaving bags of oysters near the road, and he merely picked them up.
“I went down and sniped them,” he said, insisting the oysters were already sitting there.
That account also conflicted with his first explanation, in which he admitted going down toward the beach before the property owner shouted at him. Trader pointed out that the beach was privately owned and that the man had already placed himself at the scene.
Jose also struggled to identify the relatives he claimed to have in the area and gave uncertain answers about whether he had any tribal affiliation that might affect shellfish harvesting rights.
The repeated changes were more damaging than a simple denial would have been. Each new story appeared designed to answer the latest piece of evidence, but it also weakened what he had said minutes earlier.
Bags, Wet Tools and Hundreds of Oysters
Jose eventually gained access to the trunk.
Inside, officers found bags filled with oysters, along with harvesting tools and wet work gloves. Although the buckets themselves were empty, the bags were not.
Jose continued denying that he had personally dug up the shellfish.
“No, I didn’t dig any of them,” he said.
When an officer asked why the shovels were wet, Jose blamed a leaking trunk and sunroof. He said water had soaked the floorboards and everything stored inside.
He gave a similar explanation for his wet boots, claiming they became soaked while walking down the hill to retrieve bags supposedly abandoned by strangers.
The officers began removing and counting the oysters. Early totals reached 180, then 291, with more still remaining elsewhere.
Trader explained that a recreational harvester with a valid license could take 18 oysters per day.
“Eighteen?” Jose replied. “Oh, wow.”
The final count reached 329, far beyond the recreational limit and large enough for officers to consider whether the amount qualified as a commercial-level harvest.
That number made the claim of casually finding a few abandoned bags even harder to accept. Hundreds of oysters, several containers, wet tools, and an attempted departure with the lights off pointed toward a planned harvesting operation rather than a chance discovery.
Officer Explains the Case May Be Criminal
Trader read Jose his Miranda rights and made clear that he was being detained, though not immediately arrested.
During further questioning, Jose repeated that unknown people had left the oysters behind. He claimed he watched them move into the woods, rushed down the hill, collected the bags, and then became frightened when the property owner appeared.
The officer asked why he had slammed the trunk, driven away quickly, and shut off his lights.
Jose said he did not know the approaching person was law enforcement and feared that angry local residents were chasing him.
Trader told him that the matter would not be handled as a simple ticket.
“It’s going to be criminal,” the officer said.
He explained that the potential theft charge could depend partly on the market value of the oysters. Officers would need to calculate how many dozens had been taken and determine their retail worth.
Jose repeatedly asked whether he might face fines or jail and whether buying a shellfish license the next day would help.
“No,” Trader replied. “Not with this many oysters.”
The officer told him possible charges would be forwarded to prosecutors, who would decide what happened next.
Property Owner Agrees to Pursue Charges
Officers later returned to the private beach and spoke with the property owner who had reported the suspected poaching.
The owner said he was tired of people stealing shellfish from his land and agreed to support theft charges.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked whether he wanted the matter prosecuted.
He told officers he had seen three people near the beach, although only two occupants were contacted in the vehicle. He believed they had been digging for some time before he confronted them.
Officers discussed what to do with the oysters after counting and photographing them. Because shellfish can spoil and may carry disease, they could not simply be moved to another location or stored as ordinary physical evidence.
The officers explained that relocating uncertified shellfish could spread illnesses such as norovirus. Their count, photographs, tools, and reports would instead serve as evidence.
The encounter ended without Jose being taken to jail that night. Trader told him the prosecutor’s office would likely contact him by mail and promised to note that he eventually cooperated.
According to the Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife host, charges for theft, trespassing, and harvesting commercial oyster limits without a license were forwarded for review. The channel could not determine the final outcome because Washington does not provide online records for the case.
What officers did capture was a long sequence of contradictions: no oysters became bags of oysters, a brief beach visit became a story about unknown poachers, and a trunk that supposedly never opened eventually revealed 329 reasons for the driver to keep it closed.
Gary’s love for adventure and preparedness stems from his background as a former Army medic. Having served in remote locations around the world, he knows the importance of being ready for any situation, whether in the wilderness or urban environments. Gary’s practical medical expertise blends with his passion for outdoor survival, making him an expert in both emergency medical care and rugged, off-the-grid living. He writes to equip readers with the skills needed to stay safe and resilient in any scenario.
