Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Nov. 12, 2019, at about 2:45 p.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Garberville Substation received the report of a shoplifting incident occurring on November 11 at a Redway business.

According to the business owner, whose store is located on the 1200 block of Evergreen Road, the suspect, later identified as 45-year-old Tommy Michael Frost, had been observed on surveillance video stealing a knife from the business on November 11. The business owner told deputies that a subject matching the surveillance footage was observed with a U-Haul van near Tooby Park early in the afternoon on November 12. The business owner was able to provide deputies with the surveillance video, a license plate number for the U-Haul and a last known location of the suspect.

Deputies located the U-Haul traveling on Redwood Drive and observed it enter U.S. Highway 101 north. Deputies conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle near the Highway 101 Redway off-ramp and made contact with two occupants, Frost and 39-year-old Joni Leanne Pullen.

Upon further investigation, deputies learned that the U-Haul had been reported stolen out of Eureka. Additionally, inside the vehicle deputies located drug paraphernalia.

Pullen was cited and released on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia (PC 11364(a)).

Frost was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of possession of stolen property (PC 496(a)), shoplifting (PC 459.5), driving with an expired license (VC 14601(a)) and violation of probation (PC 1203.2(a)).

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at 707-268-2539.