Pair possessed stolen welder

SANDPOINT — Two people have been arrested in connection with a trailer-mounted welder stolen from the job site for the new Lightning Creek Bridge in Clark Fork.

Aaron Steven Pantoja and Mystery Dawn Peckham are charged with grand theft by possession of stolen property and driving without privileges. Pantoja was also charged with violating the terms of his probation in a Boundary County case.

Judge Barbara set Pantoja’s bail at $40,000 and Peckham’s at $25,000 on the felony theft charges, according to court records. Public defenders have been appointed to represent the duo from Spokane, Wash.

Pantoja, 28, was pulled over on Kootenai Cutoff Road early Tuesday morning because the trailer did not have operational taillights, according to a Ponderay Police report. He was cited and released for driving without privileges.

Peckham, 35, also had a suspended license, but was later spotted attempting to drive the pickup truck away and was arrested, the police report said. Pantoja was later found at a Sandpoint gas station and arrested on suspicion of grand theft.

The trailer was positively identified as belonging to Sletten Construction, the lead contractor on the Highway 200 bridge replacement project. A company official reportedly told police the unit was taken sometime after work wrapped up on Monday, court documents indicate.