Seattle Police officers arrested a man over the weekend after they caught him scavenging inside the former headquarters of The Seattle Times.
Owners of a restaurant on Fairview Avenue, that occupies part of the mostly vacant building, called officers about 2:20 AM Saturday to report their water had been cut off. The owners told police there was a chronic issue with people stealing copper. Police went underneath the restaurant to take a look at the business’s plumbing and found a suspect gathering up a pile of copper pipes.
Officers noticed a large amount of water on the floor and found the suspect was carrying a crescent wrench, pipe cutter, pliers, wire snips, a utility knife, two flashlights and a set of keys. Police arrested the man—who was also wanted on a malicious mischief warrant—and booked him into King County Jail for investigation of burglary.