PULLMAN — A 24-year-old Pullman man charged with stealing hundreds of pairs of women’s underwear has posted bail. Garth Flaherty faces 12 charges of 2nd degree felony burglary and one felony charge of 1st degree theft.
Police say they recovered bearly 100lbs of bras and panties from his home and car.
Court documents obtained by KREM 2 News show Flaherty told detectives he "had an addiction he could not break" and that he was "too scared" to seek help.
Flaherty also told investigators he started stealing women’s underwear in middle school and the habit continued while he attended the University of Idaho.
Flaherty says he started stealing more after he moved to Pullman in May of 2006, sometimes visiting 15 different laundromats a day.
An apartment complex employee spotted Flaherty Saturday in the laundry room at the 800 block of N.E. Providence Court. The employee had heard of various theft reports of women’s underwear and recognized the man as a possible suspect.
Shortly afterward the employee received a complaint from a female resident at a nearby apartment complex stating that her underwear had been stolen from her laundry.
Garth Flaherty is accused of stealing women’s underwear in Pullman.
Police estimate as many as 1500 pairs of panties had been collected, costing as much as $2200. Police had received a dozen complaints from 5 apartment complex’s in the area. The suspect lived in the same area.
KREM 2 News searched a database of criminal records in Washington State and found Flaherty has no previous arrests or convictions.