ARLINGTON — The wheels certainly looked familiar.
Familiar enough for the man to follow up on an online sales pitch to check them out for himself.
He drove to a wrecking yard in Arlington.
There he found not only his tires and wheels but his stolen Toyota 4Runner sport utility vehicle as well.
The man departed without opening his wallet.
He called the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office around 11 a.m. Wednesday to report his discovery.
The next morning, officers from the county’s auto theft task force showed up at the site in the 22700 block of 123rd Avenue NE.
They found three stolen vehicles and arrested a 29-year-old Arlington man on a warrant. The task force also plans to forward auto theft allegations against two other people, sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
“They’re not done (investigating) yet,” Ireton said.
One of the stolen vehicles was a pickup. Its vehicle identification number had been switched. Detectives believe the pickup was owned by one of the suspects or a relative.
The investigation yielded a good result not just for the man who went to check out the tires.
“All three vehicle owners got their vehicles back,” Ireton said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.