Crime & Safety
Caught Stealing SUV From Bellevue Dealership, Suspect Tries To Flee
The suspect made it off the dealership lot, but then Bellevue police caught up to him.
BELLEVUE, WA - Talk about brazen: a suspected car thief stole a car from the Michael's Toyota dealership on Wednesday morning with police officers watching. Police were able to catch up to him, but not before the suspect nearly ran over a few officers.
The incident began around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday at the dealership in the Eastgate neighborhood. Police were already at the dealership because of an unrelated car crash. An employee at the dealership ran up and alerted two motorcycle officers that someone had just made off with a brand new SUV.
Police were able to easily spot the man and attempted to stop him near the intersection of 148th Avenue and Main Street. Officers tried to break out the windows of the SUV with batons, and another officer deployed a spike strip in front of the car.
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The suspect then drove forward into car in front of him; he then backed up into a police motorcycle. The suspect was able to drive away, but not before driving over the spikes. Police were able to stop and arrest him a few blocks away. No one was injured during the ordeal, police said.
Image via Shutterstock
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