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Cops Arrest Car Thief After He Flips Stolen Jeep

Police arrested a suspected car thief and recovered a backpack full of tools for stealing other cars after the man flipped a stolen SUV near Seattle Center.

Officers responded to the 200 block of Dexter Ave N around 12:45 Thursday after witnesses reported a man had flipped a Jeep, crawled from the wreckage and fled on foot.

The man’s escape attempt was short-lived as a construction crew and an off-duty Washington State Trooper, who had witnessed the crash, chased him down and held him until officers arrived.

Police found the suspect was driving a stolen Jeep, which had been outfitted with stolen license plates from another Jeep. The 40-year-old man was also in possession of a backpack filled with pry tools and shaved keys, items commonly used by car thieves.

Officers followed the man to Harborview Medical Center so he could receive treatment for injuries sustained in the crash, before booking him into the King County Jail for investigation of hit and run, possession of stolen property and a warrant for driving with a suspended license.