A police dog helped to catch a suspect on the run on Tuesday, April 9, after midnight. After stealing three bottles of vodka from Albertsons, the suspect fled on foot. Police contacted the 20-year-old man several blocks away, but he ran from them.
Police officers then set up containment with aid from the Washington State Patrol, Bellevue police and Kirkland police. A Redmond K-9 unit responded to the scene and “tracked the suspect for only a couple minutes before the K-9 was applied to secure the suspect,” according to the police report. The suspect, a Kent resident, had stowed two of the stolen bottles in his backpack.
After receiving medical treatment from the fire department at the scene, the suspect was booked into the Issaquah Jail on counts of theft and obstructing police. Police returned the stolen vodka to Albertsons.
April 1
Criminal impersonation: Unknown suspects used information on two of a 41-year-old Mercer Island woman’s credit/debit accounts in four attempts to make purchases at three separate locations in the United States. The victim became aware of the incidents through fraud alerts that captured the information. How the suspects obtained the victim’s information is unknown.
April 2
Fraud: A 49-year-old Mercer Island man reported that US Bank Loss Prevention notified him of an attempt to open a line of credit or secure a loan at a Las Vegas bank. The victim planned to freeze his credit through credit bureaus. $2,029 was fraudulently charged to a 61-year-old Mercer Island woman’s Nordstrom card on March 22. The victim then received several letters informing her of attempts to open new cards with her personal information. She closed all of her accounts and a fraud alert was instated.
April 5
Burglary: A home in the 4500 block of Forest Avenue S.E. was burglarized sometime between 3:30 and 7 p.m. When the 54-year-old resident returned, she found that her interior garage door was locked, which she does not normally lock. She observed dirt on the carpet near her office door and discovered the next morning that all of her valuable jewelry was missing. Stolen jewelry included a yellow gold, personally engraved locket and a diamond pendant.
April 7
Bike theft: Someone stole a blue Schwinn bicycle worth $300 at the park-and-ride in the 8000 block of North Mercer Way sometime during or after April 5. The bike belonged to a 20-year-old woman and had been locked to a bike rack.
Fraud: $400 was stolen from a 40-year-old Mercer Island man’s BECU account between 12 and 6:30 p.m. Several unauthorized charges were made from a location in San Jose, California.
Malicious mischief: A 59-year-old woman reported that her ex-boyfriend damaged her car, a Lexus, during the night in the 8800 block of S.E. 45th Street, in a neighborhood south of the library. Plastic covering the driver’s door lock was removed, and the total loss was $200.
April 8
Criminal impersonation: Someone filed a 1040-A tax form in a 57-year-old Mercer Island woman’s name. The IRS sent a notice to the victim informing her of a problem with the filing of her form because more information was needed. A co-filer was listed, whose name was unknown to the victim. The victim does not normally file a 1040-A and had not yet filed her tax return.
Fraud: An attempt was made to open a Target credit card in a 49-year-old Mercer Island woman’s name on March 28. Target declined the application because of incomplete personal information and notified the victim.
Burglary: An unlocked bathroom window screen was cut in the 6400 block of West Mercer Way sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. Jewelry was stolen out of the master bedroom, which was rummaged through. The burglars exited through a second-story back door. $11,500 in valuables was stolen, including a pearl necklace, gold Rolex watch, ruby pendant necklace, and L.V. wallet.
April 10
Burglary: A home in the 8200 block of S.E. 62nd Street, a few blocks northwest of Pioneer Park, was burglarized during daylight hours between 10:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Burglars entered the house through a back door that had been left open to the garage. The house did not have an alarm and the burglars stole multiple items, including unexpired 12-day Disney passes, four passports, five Social Security cards, checkbooks, flash drives with tax information, two Dell laptops and an Apple iTouch.
Bike accident: A bicyclist crashed at 4:25 p.m. in the 4300 block of East Mercer Way when she braked to avoid a collision with a vehicle that saw was going to pull out in front of her. The bike’s brakes locked up and the bicyclist, a 26-year-old woman, was thrown over her handlebars onto the pavement. An aid unit responded and the woman was treated for her injuries at the scene. The woman sustained scrapes to her face and hands. One witness confirmed the victim’s account of the incident.
Animal complaint: A 20-year-old woman reported that another woman’s yellow lab bit her German shepherd at 6:20 p.m. at Luther Burbank Park in the 2000 block of 84th Avenue S.E. The complainant claimed there were witnesses, but they told the police officer that they did not see the dog bite or the dogs fighting. Both dogs were off leash.
