BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A pair of burglars had their scheme exposed after one of them attempted to report a stolen car.

Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy said that officers responded to a break-in at a business on Spur Ridge Lane on June 3rd.

They noticed two cars parked near the business, and later watched two suspects flee the area.

While searching the business, officers found a large safe containing over $350,000 that had been pushed out the front door.

One of the cars found near the scene was also impounded to be searched.

Later that morning, that car’s owner reported it stolen and planned to meet with an officer to file a report.

The car owner was identified as one of the suspects, 30-year-old Christopher Qualls.

Qualls sent the other suspect, 45-year-old William Hagen, to the meeting location first to make sure he was not being arrested.

The officer seized Qualls’ phone when he arrived, and a search warrant later found incriminating texts between the suspects linking them to the business burglary and several others.

Investigators also learned that a consensual sexual encounter between Hagen and a storage unit employee was recorded without consent in an effort to get information for future break-ins.

Both men were arrested on Saturday, June 17th, and remain at the Whatcom County Jail on over $500,000 bail each.