Officers captured an elusive Magnolia car prowler early this morning after almost three hours of dogged determination.
It all started at approximately 4:50 a.m. when a witness called 911 to report she had observed a male suspect going door-to-door of vehicles that were parked along the street in the 3600 block of 39th Avenue West. The witness then observed the suspect enter two vehicles and steal property from them. A female suspect appeared to be working with the male suspect.
Officers responded quickly and set up containment. A male suspect spotted by one of the responding officers ran off, escaping into the darkness of the heavily wooded back yards. We received a couple of additional 911 calls from witnesses who thought they observed the suspect running and hiding, but he was able to elude capture for the time being.
Containment was released about an hour later but several officers stayed in the area. Around 6:20 a.m. an officer found a male and a female (possible suspects) at the QFC on West Dravus Street. Unfortunately an available witness was unable to positively identify these individuals so they were interviewed and released from the scene.
Around 7:08 a.m. a resident from the neighborhood called 911 stating they thought they observed the suspects walking from the area. As officers arrived, more residents started calling 911 and giving hiding locations of the now single suspect, as well as directions of travel as the suspect fled from officers who were now canvassing the area on foot.
Around 7:35 a.m. two officers located the suspect hiding in an unlocked shed. The suspect was exhausted from running and was taken into custody without further incident.
A search of the suspect’s backpack revealed, among other things, shaved keys (commonly used to steal cars), a tool used to break windows, a walkie-talkie, a change of clothing, six pairs of sunglasses, and two empty sunglass cases.
Officers interviewed the 18-year-old male suspect and subsequently booked him into the King County Jail for Vehicle Prowling, Criminal Trespass and Possession of Burglary or Auto Theft Tools.