Moses Lake man arrested for stealing irrigation canal liners

A Moses Lake man is in jail for allegedly stealing materials used to repair a broken irrigation canal in the Wheeler area earlier this month.

The Grant County Sheriff's Office said it arrested 57-year-old Ivan Puyu on Aug. 17 in the 5000 block of Road O Northeast, nearly two weeks after the damaged canal caused localized flooding in the area.

Investigators say a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation employee observed Puyu using a saw to steal two large canal casings from an East Columbia Basin Irrigation District flatbed trailer.

Officers from the Moses Lake Police Department arrived on scene and arrested Puyu. He reportedly told them that he had been looking for something to use as a pad for a children's playground and that he had believed the pad was being thrown away.

Lawmakers said Puyu cut the ships into pieces and took them home and tried to return them, but they were badly damaged and unusable.

He was arrested as part of the investigation for second-degree theft and second-degree malicious damage to property.

The irrigation district says the cost to replace the two damaged liners – which resemble very large tarps – is nearly $3,000.