Lynnwood brothers accused of stealing 9 guns in burglary

Published 1:30 am Saturday, September 3, 2016

LYNNWOOD — Two teenaged brothers from Lynnwood are accused of stealing nine firearms during a burglary last month.

The brothers, 14 and 17, were being held Friday for investigation of illegal firearm possession, Lynnwood’s Deputy Police Chief Jim Nelson said. Detectives also expect to seek burglary charges.

The 17-year-old has been in juvenile detention since Aug. 25 on another case, Nelson said. The younger brother was arrested Thursday after police obtained a judge’s permission to search the family’s home.

Three of the stolen guns have been recovered, Nelson said.

The burglary was reported Aug. 20 near Lynnwood Elementary School. Among the officers who responded was Sam Zacharia, who has special training in crime scene investigation.

For more than a decade, Lynn-wood has tried to make sure at least one officer on every squad has that extra training, which covers fingerprints, genetic material and other forensic evidence, Nelson said. The police department tries to get those officers to the majority of break-in scenes.

“We want to work to identify suspects,” Nelson said. “Typically, they’re involved in committing other crimes and other burglaries.”

Zacharia found dozens of fingerprints at the scene. Some of the prints allegedly matched a set for the 17-year-old already listed in the law enforcement database.

The boy had been arrested days before for investigation of malicious mischief after police were called to a domestic-violence dispute at his family’s home, Nelson said. At that time, the family turned over a shotgun, but detectives did not yet know it was linked to the burglary.

Two more guns were found at the home during Thursday’s raid, Nelson said. Six more are missing.

Police allege the younger boy’s fingerprints were found at the crime scene. They plan to review other burglaries in the area in recent weeks in case anything else might connect to the brothers.

Both boys have declined to speak with detectives, Nelson said.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.