A man was arrested this morning after stealing a car, ramming a police patrol vehicle, pointing a gun at officers, then jumping into Lake Washington. He was arrested after treading water for nearly 25 minutes.
On Thursday, around 7:45 a.m., a man dialed 911 to report that someone had just stolen his car while he was unloading items into his business in the 12300 block of 15th Avenue Northeast. Officers met with the man, who had video footage of the suspect climbing through the open tailgate of the SUV, starting the car via the proximity push-to-start button, then driving away eastbound on Northeast 123rd Street.
Luckily, the victim had an AirTag in his car. The man got into a patrol car with an officer and was able to track his stolen car in real time across North Seattle.
An officer found the suspect, a 38-year-old man, sitting in the stolen vehicle near the 10000 block of Riviera Place Northeast, in the Matthews Beach neighborhood. The suspect reversed the stolen car into the officer’s vehicle, striking the marked patrol car while the officer was still inside. The suspect continued to reverse the stolen car into a yard of a nearby home but became stuck after reversing into the side of another home. When the officer opened the driver’s side door, the suspect pointed a loaded firearm at the officer.
The officer took cover and the suspect jumped out of the stolen car, still holding the gun. The suspect dropped the loaded firearm, ran through the home’s carport, into the backyard, then jumped into Lake Washington.
While treading water for about 25 minutes, the suspect told officers that he had several active warrants, He said he was worried about going to jail for a long time, complained the water was cold, and he refused to return to shore. The man eventually swam to shore and was taken into custody. Seattle Fire Department medics were on scene and evaluated the suspect, who said he swallowed drugs and spit out a white substance later identified to be fentanyl.
When the suspect finally surrendered, he gave police a fake name but was eventually positively identified. The 38-year-old man was on Washington State Department of Corrections probation. He also had multiple active warrants from the Department of Corrections, King County Sheriff’s Office, and Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
Seattle Police arrested the man for stealing the SUV, felony assault, and unlawfully possessing a firearm due to being a convicted felon. The case remains under investigation.
Incident: 2026-322234 /North Precinct /L1