News

Prolific vehicle prowler arrested

Information from the community helps police locate and pursue suspect

By Sergeant Josh McClure | Edmonds Police Department

A 24-year old Lynnwood man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail in connection with multiple vehicle prowls in the Edmonds-Woodway and Five Corners area.

During the early morning hours of Monday, May 25th, Edmonds officers were patrolling a residential area recently hit by numerous car prowls. Officers had been able to obtain surveillance footage from some of the recent victims and conducted an emphasis patrol in the area with information on a possible suspect. Around 2am a sergeant located the suspect. He fled on foot after dumping the stolen bicycle he had been on.

Officers and K9 pursued the suspect for the next several hours, ultimately tracking him to a motel room on Hwy 99. A search warrant was obtained and the suspect was arrested out of the hotel room along with an adult female who had an unrelated warrant. Over ten bags of suspected stolen property were also recovered as evidence to include jewelry, electronics, mail, prescriptions and other possible evidence tied to residential burglaries. Additional evidence had been recovered during the pursuit of the suspect.

Edmonds Police Department
Some of the items recovered by the Edmonds Police Department from the vehicle prowler’s motel room. Photo courtesy of the Edmonds Police Department.

A detective was assigned to assist with the investigation and go through the significant amount of evidence that was recovered. The detective also interviewed the suspect before he was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for Vehicle Prowl, Theft 3 and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Additional charges are likely as the investigation evolves. The suspect appears to have been staying in local motels for some time. 

There is a substantial amount of evidence to go through and follow-up investigation to complete. Detectives believe they have evidence for over twenty (20) victims at this time. They will reach out to those victims they are able to identify as soon as is practical. 

This arrest is a result of good communication between our community and our officers who have responded out to many of these prowl locations. Some of the reports that came in during the day on Sunday had surveillance photos of the suspect where a vehicle and clothing were clearly identifiable. Those images were what allowed our night shift patrol officers to put together a plan in an effort to locate the suspect.

If you are an Edmonds resident and recently had items stolen from your vehicle but DID NOT notify police, please call 425-407-3999 to have an officer contact you or visit mycrimereport.us if you wish to file a report online. Having serial numbers or other identifiable markings for your items will help detectives as they work through this investigation.

More information will be released as the investigation allows. 

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