Thanks to a neighbor’s gut instinct, Burien Police / King County Sheriff’s Office deputies were able to recently find and arrest a burglar and bike thief:
Photos courtesy King County Sheriff’s Office
On November 20,2020 at 6:59 a.m. our 9-1-1 communications center received a call about a suspicious male. The male was seen at the intersection of SW 144 Street at 12th Ave SW (map below), in the city of Burien which is a contract city and partner of the King County Sheriff’s Office. The male was seen riding a bicycle through the intersection, then two minutes later he was seen with two bikes. The caller thought this suspicious and that the second bike was possibly stolen. It was also reported that the same male was seen earlier looking into parked vehicles.
Responding deputies found the male in front of a nearby restaurant and when asked why he had two bikes with him, he claimed he was at “a friend’s house and picking up his friend’s bicycle”. The male was placed in the back of a patrol car as his story didn’t seem to add up.
Meanwhile, a second deputy contacted the original caller who told him that the male was seen leaving a nearby cul-de-sac with the two bikes. Deputies then contacted homes in that cul-de-sac to see if any of them recently had any bicycles stolen. On one particular home, a deputy contacted the homeowner who stated that he and his wife had bicycles in their garage. He walked the deputy over to his garage and discovered that 2 of the bicycles were missing. Deputies drove the homeowner back to the scene of the suspect to identify and confirm they were in fact his bicycles. Once confirmed, the suspect was arrested and notified of his constitutional rights.
The suspect was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of Residential Burglary and the bicycles were returned to their rightful owners.
As the male appeared to have been looking into vehicles earlier, this is a great reminder that if you ‘see something, say something’. If something doesn’t look right, please call us anytime. It may be nothing, or in this case, it may take a burglar off the streets.
It is our policy not to show suspect’s faces until they have been formally charged.
