SPD’s SWAT Team arrested a burglar in crisis early Thursday morning in Wallingford, after he barricaded himself in a home overnight, broke out most of the windows, and then fell asleep on the bed.
At 11:16 p.m., police responded to the 1900 block of North 46th Street for reports of a burglary. An elderly couple said they had stepped outside their home to look at a plant near their front steps. While they were outside, a man they’d never met approached them and tried to sell them a tool he had in his hand. As the couple told him they weren’t interested, the man darted through their open door and locked it behind him. The couple called 911 from their front walkway and explained the situation to officers when they arrived.
The first officers at the scene approached the front door and could see the suspect playing the piano inside. They told the man to come outside, but instead he approached the front door and told police he had a gun. Immediately after that, officers heard several loud bangs and glass erupted from the glazing of the door. Two officers were struck by the glass and one sustained minor cuts to his face and hand.
Police quickly realized the suspect had used the tool – a set of bolt cutters – to break the windows of the door, not a gun.
Officers set up a perimeter around the home and began trying to persuade the man to exit. The 34-year-old appeared to be in crisis, and he was not receptive to officers’ requests to surrender. Members of SPD’s Hostage Negotiation Team also tried to reason with the man, but to no avail.
Instead, the man continued to destroy property in the home over several hours, including breaking additional windows and throwing assorted items out of the house. At one point officers could see the man had armed himself with a knife, and he also told police he was going to “blow up” the home.
Officers requested and were granted a warrant to enter the home, and SPD’s SWAT Team responded to serve the warrant and arrest the suspect.
SWAT officers saw the man sleeping on a bed in the home. Through a window, they asked him again to surrender, but he refused to cooperate. SWAT then proceeded to enter the bedroom and arrested the man at 4:30 a.m.
Police booked the man into King County Jail for burglary and assault on an officer.