By Rikki King and Eric Stevick Herald Writers
EVERETT — A suspected burglar got a bullet in the leg and a trip to the emergency room on Thursday after a morning confrontation with a businessman at a north Everett realty office.
The businessman, 76, of Everett was working at Robinett &Associates at 1831 Colby Avenue.
The man reportedly found the suspect inside the building about 9:15 a.m. and called 911, said Everett police officer Aaron Snell, department spokesman. He brought out a handgun and told the suspect to stay put.
The intruder allegedly began arguing with the man and threw a computer monitor and other items at him. The man suffered minor injuries to his arm.
During the scuffle, the man fired a shot, striking the suspect in the leg, Snell said.
The suspect then took off running. He made it about half a block before being caught by police.
Neighbors along nearby Wetmore Avenue still were talking about all the commotion early Thursday afternoon.
Charles Baker, 59, was “blissfully unaware,” gardening in his backyard, he said.
That is, until he looked up and saw multiple police officers and a police dog.
They appeared to catch the suspect on the north side of his property, he said.
“He was being a little argumentative,” Baker said.
Baker’s next-door neighbor, Anne Lambert, 48, and her family caught much of the action from their second-floor back balcony, she said.
They felt better after they saw that Baker was OK.
“We were watching the whole thing, going ‘Jeez!’” she said.
Baker and Lambert saw the suspect appear to struggle with officers, despite the police dog held at bay nearby, they said.
The officers quickly got the suspect on the ground and in cuffs, looking rather “like a trout,” Lambert said.
Before long, they watched as emergency crews wheeled the man away on a gurney.
The suspect, 30, of Everett, was arrested and taken to a local hospital for medical treatment, Snell said. Upon release, he was expected to be booked into Snohomish County Jail.
The identity of the man who fired the shot was not released.
The Robinetts’ real estate company is a long-time Everett fixture. Family members are well-known for their civic activism and political clout.
Much of the block around the business on Thursday was looped in yellow crime-scene tape. Police cars lined the sidewalk.
Neighbors who live across the alley said the business always has been a good neighbor, once even sharing parking space when a family on the block had a garage sale.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com
