WAITSBURG – A Waitsburg man was arrested Sunday afternoon and is being held in Walla Walla on suspicion of committing a string of recent, local burglaries.

Mason James Bates, 31, was charged in a preliminary hearing Monday with two counts of residential burglary, theft in the third degree, malicious mischief in the third degree, and possession of burglary tools.

A resident of Waitsburg's W. 6th Street contacted Walla Walla County deputies Sunday after he discovered his home had been burglarized and jewelry was missing. While investigating that crime, deputies learned from neighbors of a suspic...