A 23-year-old Elma man was arrested Tuesday after a search turned up items related to recent East County burglaries.

A Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop in the 300 block of Stamper Road, and an Elma Police Officer responded to assist. The driver of the vehicle was arrested on traffic violations and searched, said Elma Police Chief Susan Shultz.

“During the search, officers located a recently stolen fuel card from a burglarized Elma business,” said Shultz. “Officers also observed items in the suspect’s vehicle.”

Officers on scene applied for and were granted search warrants for the suspect vehicle and his residence to recover additional property related to the burglary. Elma Officers, with the assistance of Grays Harbor Sheriff’s deputies, served the search warrant on the suspect’s residence.

“During the search, officers located several additional items from the Elma burglary along with multiple items stolen from other East County burglaries,” said Shultz. “Several firearms were located, to include two handguns that had the serial numbers scratched off.”

The Elma man was arrested but released due to health concerns, said Shultz. Charges were forwarded to the Grays Harbor Prosecutor’s Office for possession of stolen property, unlawful possession of a firearm and altering identifying marks on a firearm.