South Sound News

Repeat offender wanted on 18 warrants faces two dozen charges

Randy Frunz has been arrested so many times, his booking photos appear like an age progression showing his run-ins with law enforcement over the years.

“This is a guy that’s a perfect example of just being a burden on the system,” said Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Detective Ed Troyer. “He’s been in and out of jail 26 times.”

The 38-year-old Frunz faces 23 felony charges and has 18 active bench warrants, all for failing to show up for court. His charges range from burglary at businesses and homes to repeatedly stealing cars, and he has been found passed out in stolen cars with the engines still running three different times, according to court documents.

One of the stolen vehicles came from the office of the state Department of Social and Health Services in Tacoma, where he's also accused of breaking into offices.

Court documents state Frunz told police a friend gave him the car but they quickly spotted a sticker on the back reading, “State motor pool vehicle for official use only.”

Although scheduled to appear in court Friday, Frunz refused to leave his cell in the Pierce County jail. Troyer said his record shows Frunz is an example of a one-man crime wave.

“When you catch somebody doing something like that and then you find out he has multiple warrants for not showing up for court and you bring him to jail and he gets back out again to go commit more crimes, it’s frustrating,” Troyer said.

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