A man and woman were arrested yesterday after a home was burglarized just outside the City of North Bend. The woman was arrested by Snoqualmie Police after trying to cash a check stolen from the burglary. A male suspect then led King County deputies on a pursuit along I-90 that ended with his arrest on I-405.
The incident began shortly after 1 p.m. in the 12800 block of 412th Ave SE when the elderly victims, who are in their 80s, called 911 to report a burglary to their home. While waiting for a deputy to arrive, they called their bank to report the theft of their checkbook.
A sergeant assigned to the City of North Bend contacted the victims and learned that the thieves took a .357 magnum handgun along with a checkbook and some other items. At 1:30 PM while the sergeant was still there, the victim’s bank called to report someone was trying to cash one of the stolen checks at the Snoqualmie IGA Store located in the 7700 block of Center Blvd SE.
The sergeant made a request to have Snoqualmie P.D. respond to the store along with King County deputies. The female was taken into custody without incident as she was in possession of a checkbook that was stolen from the home. Deputies learned the woman had a male accomplice in a vehicle somewhere near the store. The vehicle and male suspect were then recognized by a detective in an unmarked car. When deputies tried to stop the car, the suspect refused to stop.
During the pursuit, Washington State Patrol deployed spike strips but the suspect was able to avoid them. The suspect reached speeds of at least 90 MPH and was passing other traffic on the shoulder of the roadway. After getting onto North I-405, the suspect pulled over to the right shoulder and gave up. He was taken into custody without further incident.
The 33 year old man and 37 year old woman from Renton were booked into the King County Jail for investigation of Theft of a Firearm, Burglary 1, Theft 2 and Forgery. The man was also booked for Investigation of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Eluding. The suspect vehicle was impounded and detectives will be continuing their investigation.
The partnership between the cities of North Bend, Sammamish and the King County Sheriff’s Office along with Washington State Patrol definitely played a role in the successful apprehension of these two criminals. Guardian 1 was also overhead which allowed pursuing deputies to back off in the interest of public safety.
--Information from the King County Sheriff's Office
