Herald staff
SNOHOMISH — A couple suspected of shopping with other people’s money were arrested Friday morning at their home in the 9400 block of 52nd Street SE, said Snohomish County sheriff Lt. Rodney Rochon.
The 37-year-old man and his 42-year-old girlfriend are suspected of stealing credit card solicitations from mailboxes and using the cards to buy furniture, appliances and other merchandise, Rochon said. The pair allegedly had the bills sent to a post office box to avoid detection.
Deputies seized more than $100,000 in cash and merchandise from the home, as well as false identification documents, military papers, passports and medical documents, Rochon said.
The man and woman had been the focus of a three-week investigation involving sheriff investigators, postal inspectors and the U.S. Secret Service. They were arrested without incident and are being held at Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of identity theft.
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies made the discovery at about 5 a.m. as they were chasing a stolen truck loaded with stolen lumber near 164th Street NE and 97th Avenue NE, east of Arlington. The truck occupants abandoned the truck a short distance away and escaped on foot, but not before driving the truck through the yard of a home where at least five stolen vehicles were parked, said Lt. Rodney Rochon.
"Right now, it appears to have been an error on the part of the crooks that had stolen the truck. They pretty much ran to where they were going to and then said, ‘Oops, the cops are still here!’" Rochon said.
Investigators recovered the five stolen vehicles, the stolen truck, the lumber, a stolen gun, and are identifying other property at the home that may also have been stolen, including several snowmobiles and various car parts, Rochon said.
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