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Zero for two. When the closing gavel dropped on the 2022 Washington State Legislative session last week, neither of the two bills that would have addressed law enforcement鈥檚 ability to respond to soaring car thefts in this state survived.

The result is that law enforcement officers continue to be hamstrung in investigations involving car thefts, among a myriad of other crimes. If they see a stolen car, they can鈥檛 pursue.

Even before February 2022鈥檚 numbers were included, car thefts statewide increased by 50% since the July 2021 laws took effect. Compared to 2,000-2,500 vehicles hoisted monthly before the new laws, the number of vehicles stolen monthly in Washington now nears 3,500, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

But behind all these crime statistics, as The Dori Monson Show reminded listeners, there are human stories. Many of them are painful to hear.

That鈥檚 the case with Kathy Stonack of Puyallup. Fighting cancer with regular hospital visits for chemotherapy, she used her pickup to get to treatments. That was, until a week ago, when someone came into her yard at night and stole the vehicle from her carport.

鈥淪he was devastated,鈥� said her brother, Michael Stonack. 鈥淪he called the police … and they were wonderful, but they said, ‘We鈥檙e really sorry, but we鈥檙e probably not going to be able get your truck back.鈥�”

鈥淭his was heartbreaking for me,鈥� he continued. 鈥淚 love my sister to death. She means everything in the world to me. When I see her hurt, it tears my heart out.鈥�

Dramatic rise in car thefts blamed on new Washington state law

Michael Stonack described how their father, a Korean War veteran, taught him and his sister 鈥渢hat if you work hard 鈥� and nothing in life is free 鈥� but if you work, you will be rewarded.鈥�

Kathy, he said, had paid off her home and truck, but could no longer afford insurance on her pickup because of the rising costs of her cancer treatments.

鈥淚 consider myself a big guy. I鈥檓 strong. But this hurts my heart,鈥� Michael Stonack continued. 鈥淎ll of us kids worked since were [young], we worked in the berry fields to earn what we have. … It just makes me want to give up, to not be able to trust our government.”

鈥淢y father was a guy who taught us to respect the flag, respect your elders, respect the people in office,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 all been lost. It鈥檚 all been lost.”

Meanwhile, Michael Stonack says his sister continues her battle with cancer.

鈥淪he鈥檚 strong. She鈥檒l get through this,” he said. “I think I鈥檓 more hurt and sad over this. We know God will help us and we鈥檒l move on.鈥�

Listen to Dori鈥檚 entire interview with Michael Stonack of Puyallup:

Listen to Dori Monson weekday afternoons from noon 鈥� 3 p.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the聽podcast here.