An Orcas man has been accused of stealing a car from a rental company and breaking into a home.

Anthony Michael Kean, 34, of Eastsound, was charged in San Juan County Superior Court with one count of residential burglary, taking a vehicle without permission in the second degree and possessing stolen property in the second degree.

On Dec. 31, 2021, the owner of an Orcas Island car rental company received notification that a vehicle in his fleet had started moving at 3 a.m. The tracking system indicated the car, which had not been rented to anyone, was at an apartment complex in Eastsound. At 9 a.m., a sheriff’s deputy located the car at the address indicated on the tracking report.

The officer turned on his emergency lights and approached the car, which had tinted windows. He walked to the driver’s side and saw Kean accompanied by a woman in the passenger seat. Both occupants were naked from the waist down, and the officer observed a methamphetamine pipe on the dashboard.

After safely detaining both occupants, the officer returned to the vehicle, where he found a “large amount of property in the back seat and in the rear storage/trunk area,” including a large flat-screen television, golf clubs, a compound bow, and arrows, two instant pots and multiple other personal items. According to the report, “I also observed a butane torch style lighter and several glass smoking pipes in the front console of the stolen vehicle. …I also saw several hand tools on the floorboard of the driver’s side of the stolen vehicle … that were consistent with burglary tools.”

According to Kean’s statement to the deputy, after his car broke down he attempted to rent one. He was unable to find a staff member available so he checked the door handles of the rental cars parked at the airport. He located one that was unlocked with a key inside, so he drove it away. He had planned to call the company in the morning to pay for using it but said he “must have slept through that and forgot to call. …I, being an islander, figured like hopefully, it would be cool if I just paid them in the morning.”

Kean initially said the items in the car were from helping a friend move. The deputy did not believe him, and after asking more questions about the circumstances, Kean allegedly admitted to breaking into a home on the east side of Orcas where “nobody was home” in the early morning hours of Dec. 31. The residence was unlocked and Kean entered the home, allegedly taking multiple items that he then put into the stolen car. He told the deputy he did not know what he planned to do with the property but had considered “giving it to people he forgot to get gifts for Christmas.”

On March 7, Kean did not appear for a scheduled court appearance and a $5,000 bench warrant was issued.