Student likely foiled car theft at Cascade High School
Published 10:20 pm Wednesday, March 26, 2008
EVERETT — Quick thinking by a Cascade High School student and school security early Wednesday led to three arrests and may have prevented car thefts, officials said.
Suspicions were raised after the men were spotted in the school parking lot around 7:45 a.m., after classes had started, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.
Security at the high school was on alert after several recent car thefts at high schools, he said.
This month, Cascade and Kamiak high schools reported car thefts and Mariner High School reported several attempted thefts, Goetz said.
On Wednesday morning, school security officers called police after two people were spotted in a Honda in the parking lot, Goetz said. Two south Everett teens, 17 and 18, were later arrested near the school without incident.
While police were arresting the pair in the Honda, a student saw another suspicious man cruising Cascade’s parking lot, Goetz said.
The man noticed the student was paying attention, and allegedly lifted his shirt to reveal a gun, the student told authorities, said Mary Waggoner, an Everett School District spokeswoman.
Everett officers and Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies began to scour the area looking for the man. He was reported driving a black Acura Integra that police determined had been stolen in Kirkland, Goetz said.
As a precaution, the high school was placed in a modified lockdown, in which students are permitted to walk around the school, but must be escorted to their cars or to buses if they had to leave before the end of the day, Waggoner said.
Police caught up with the suspect near the Albertsons at Evergreen Way and Madison Street, Goetz said. The pursuit continued until the vehicle stopped near the intersection of Third Avenue SE and 128th Street SE.
The man, 22, of Everett, struggled with sheriff’s deputies, who used an electronic stun gun to subdue him, Goetz said.
He was arrested and was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of possession of stolen property and attempting to elude police, Goetz said.
Police didn’t find the handgun and believe the man may have tossed it before being arrested, Goetz said.
The other two men who were arrested were booked into jail for investigation of possession of stolen property and drug offenses.
“We questioned all three individuals,” Goetz said. “We are trying to determine if these folks were working together or if they were acting alone. However, it’s quite a coincidence that we have two vehicles in the Cascade parking lot at about the same time that appear to be trolling for cars.”
This school year, three cars have been stolen from the parking lot at Cascade, Waggoner said.
Goetz said that police hope Wednesday’s arrests will curb the car theft problems at the schools.
In the meantime, police will make anti-theft devices available for purchase at the schools.
“Everett Police Department encourages people to keep their property safe and that includes their cars,” he said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
