LYNNWOOD — Three men who allegedly burglarized Circuit City in Lynnwood early April 27 were pursued on I-5 and eventually captured by Lynnwood K-9 “Tanner” and his fellow officers.
“This case is a textbook example of excellent police work,” said Lynnwood Police Com. Paul Watkins. “Everyone from the witness to dispatcher to all involved officers worked together in a coordinated effort to capture the suspects responsible for this crime.”
A truck driver pumping fuel at about 1:30 a.m. at a nearby gas station called 911 as he watched three men break the front window of the electronics store at 2800 196th St. SW and take a number of items from within, Watkins said.
“After loading the items into a blue truck, the suspects left the area westbound on 196th Street,” Watkins said. “As the patrol sergeant neared the location, he saw a blue and silver truck with a white canopy exiting the parking lot as described by the witness.”
The truck got onto northbound I-5 with the sergeant following. Once additional Lynnwood patrol units joined the sergeant’s location, they attempted to stop the suspect’s vehicle north of the SR 526 (Boeing Freeway) off-ramp to reduce the suspect’s avenue of escape, he said.
“The truck decelerated, then quickly drove across the steep grass median that separates northbound I-5 and the on-ramp to westbound SR 526,” Watkins said.
The truck surprisingly made it onto westbound SR 526 and eventually started to drive against the direction of travel, Watkins said, adding, there was no traffic at the time.
“We were just about ready to terminate the pursuit, because they were going the wrong way on the freeway, and then they bailed out of the truck and ran down into a ravine,” said Lynnwood Police K-9 handler Cole Langdon.
The now empty truck traveled another 200 feet and crashed into a guardrail.
“That’s when Tanner and I gave chase,” Langdon said.
Langdon gave the three suspects a warning and when they didn’t stop he gave Tanner the command to nab them.
“Tanner knew what was happening and he knew exactly what to do,” Langdon said. Adding while Tanner “caught up with one of the suspects pretty quickly” a team of other officers from Lynnwood and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office captured the other two, who after seeing Tanner hid in some nearby bushes.
“This was a team effort that all came together very well,” Langdon said.
The suspect captured by Tanner was treated for minor injuries and one officer injured his ankle while pursuing the suspects on foot, Watkins said.
All three suspects, Skagit County residents 18 to 23 years of age, are being held on charges of burglary and possession of stolen property, Watkins said. The driver was being held on the additional charge of eluding a police officer. Lynnwood detectives are in the process of documenting and recovering the stolen property found inside the suspect vehicle, which happened to be an unreported stolen vehicle.
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