Car thefts driving call to action

By Cathy Logg

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Washington state has one of the highest vehicle theft rates in the nation. And in Everett over the past six years, the number of cars thefts has more than doubled.

Which means car thieves are getting more brazen, police say.

For example, a 27-year-old man who was running late for an appearance in Snohomish County Superior Court on a charge of felony eluding now faces more charges after he allegedly rode to court in a stolen pickup.

It all began Friday afternoon when a Washington State Patrol trooper tried to stop the pickup on the Hewitt Avenue trestle, but the pickup fled, Trooper Lance Ramsay said.

The trooper followed the pickup until it stopped in downtown Everett, right next to the Everett Police Department and Snohomish County Courthouse. Three people jumped out, leaving the pickup in the intersection, Ramsay said. As one man jumped into a parked car and drove away, another man and a woman fled into the courthouse. They were caught in a second-floor courtroom, Ramsay said.

Troopers arrested the pair on investigation of taking a motor vehicle without permission and possession of stolen property, and the woman on investigation of felony eluding. But they let the man confer with his attorney, who was waiting for him, before the suspect was booked into jail.

In this case, the owner got the vehicle back. But more and more residents are losing theirs to thieves.

That has resulted in more pressure on the Legislature to toughen the penalty for stealing cars, Everett police Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.

Some cars are stolen for their parts, while others are stolen simply as a means of transportation. Often, stolen cars are used to commit crimes and then abandoned.

Stolen cars are also involved in disproportionate number of serious accidents after drivers flee from traffic stops, Bryant said.

However, a state crackdown comes at a time when the state’s jails and prisons are overflowing and money to build new facilities is scarce.

"It’s a balancing act that the Legislature has to deal with," Bryant said. "The question is how do we reduce auto theft as a precursor to eluding?"

One of the best ways to prevent car theft is for residents to band together and be vigilant, Bryant said.

On Wednesday, a woman in the 2100 block of Oakes Avenue called police to report suspicious activity. She had seen a maroon Honda pull up and park outside. Two teens got out and walked between two houses toward the alley, Bryant said. The woman knew the two didn’t belong there, he said.

The description of the car matched one that had been stolen earlier that morning from Rucker Avenue. Officers arrived and followed the teen’s footprints to the alley, where they found an empty parking space. They contacted the resident, who discovered her Saturn was missing.

Another Everett officer spotted the Saturn in a restaurant parking lot on Broadway, with the two teens still inside. The teens fled, but police arrested the boy, 17, and girl, 15, Bryant said. They were booked into the Denney Juvenile Justice Center.

"That’s the kind of thing that solves crimes," he said. "Someone saw something that didn’t fit in the neighborhood and reported it. They didn’t solve one crime, they solved two.

"That’s a case of a good neighborhood, people knowing each other, talking to each other and knowing when something is out of the ordinary," Bryant said.

You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437 or send e-mail to

logg@heraldnet.com.

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