At 2:00 am Tuesday, February 27th, West Precinct officers responded to a report of narcotics dealing in the area of 1st Avenue and Cherry Street. The caller stated that it appeared two men, one in a parked car, were engaged in a drug deal at that location. The caller provided a detailed description of the individuals and the car. The description of the vehicle matched a similar car involved in several “shots fired” calls in the same area the previous nights. During the call to 911, the witness stated that one of the suspects got into an argument with an unknown male and that the suspect appeared to raise his shirt as if to show the other person a firearm.
Officers responded to the area and located the described occupied vehicle. The other suspect, who was on foot, left the area as officers arrived. Officers spotted the suspect and attempted to detain him, but he ran down an alley. Officers pursued on foot, as the suspect ran down the alley and jumped over a fence. Officers were able to capture the man and take him into custody.
During a search of the suspect, officers located 3.5 grams of suspected crack cocaine. During a search of the alley, officers located a Colt semi-auto .380 handgun. The gun was collected and processed for fingerprints.
The suspect, 43, a convicted felon, was later booked into the King County Jail for drug and gun charges. The other suspect was identified and released from the scene. Detectives will handle the follow-up investigation.