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Police Arrest Burglar Stuck in Air Duct

A burglar, who told police he’d “never been so high before,” was found stuck inside an air duct in a Pioneer Square residential complex Monday night.

Residents in the building, located on the 100 block of Alaskan Way South, called police around 6 PM after hearing noises that sounded like someone “destroying washing machines” with a pry bar. When officers tried to enter the laundry room, the doorknob fell off, apparently disassembled from the other side.

As officers investigated further, they discovered the burglar had burrowed through the wall of the laundry room into an adjacent storage area. A resident broke a lock on the storage room door so police could enter. Officers found some blood and broken glass inside, but no suspect.

There was, however, a small opening that led to air ducts. Officers made their way to the basement, where they could hear someone struggling inside the duct work.

The burglar told police he was stuck, and could not move because of the pain — and that he needed something to drink.

It took firefighters 20 minutes to free the burglar, who suffered cuts to his hands and face. He initially told police he didn’t use drugs, then said he did use drugs and finally noted he had never been so high before.

He also told police that after breaking into the laundry room, he hid behind the washing machines as residents came in to do laundry. He then barricaded the door with a vending machine. When asked why he dug through the wall, the man said “to complete my mission”.

Officers plan to book him into King County Jail on investigation of burglary and possession of drugs when he leaves the hospital.