Complaints about needles and noise from a generator around an RV in North Seattle led SPD’s Major Crimes Taskforce and patrol officers to seize two motor homes and arrest a former car salesman and suspected prolific thief, after police found him passed out behind the wheel of a Winnebago.
Police were called to the 10000 block of Aurora Avenue North just before 8 AM on June 2nd after receiving complaints from neighbors about needles and generator noise associated with a motorhome in a parking lot.
Officers arrived, found a 34-foot 2014 motorhome and discovered it had been reported stolen from a dealership lot in Enumclaw. Police interviewed several witnesses and neighbors about the RVs purported owner, but no one seemed to know his name. However, witnesses said the 33-year-old had a distinctive upside-down flag tattoo on his arm, described him as a “smooth talker” and told officers he had recently driven through the neighborhood in a second black and grey RV.
Officers towed the stolen motorhome and began searching the neighborhood for the black and grey Winnebago. They soon found it idling in a parking lot a few blocks away and immediately took notice of the RV’s license plates—or the lack thereof and discovered the 33-year-old man sleeping in the driver’s seat. After being awoken by police, the man told detectives he had stolen the motorhome from a dealership in Everett.
Major Crimes Taskforce detectives booked the man into the King County Jail for stealing the RVs—valued at over $200,000—and are now investigating him for a number of other crimes in the Seattle area.
Since launching an emphasis effort in February focused on property crimes in Seattle, MCTF detectives have identified and arrested numerous prolific suspects , sometimes tied to as many as dozens of burglaries, car prowls and other thefts.
In keeping with that trend, detectives believe the “smooth talking” suspect in this case is involved in numerous crimes, aided with knowledge he gained when he previously worked as a car salesman. Detectives believe the man is tied to multiple auto thefts at dealerships in Lake City and he was also briefly detained by police near a car dealership in SODO shortly after someone tried to break-into it last month. Officers found the 33-year-old was carrying a screwdriver and walkie-talkie at the time of the incident, but weren’t immediately able to tie him to the attempted break-in.
