(WSB photo from Tuesday)
Back on Tuesday, we brought you first word of a Bellevue Police raid at a house in Highland Park. BPD didn’t have a lot to say that day, but now they do:
Bellevue police Tuesday arrested five people suspected of being part of a large identity theft ring that allegedly operated out of a residence in West Seattle. Investigators with the department’s Special Enforcement Team were conducting surveillance on a residence in the 9400 block of Ninth Avenue SW in West Seattle when they saw two people leave the residence and get into a stolen car.
After obtaining a search warrant for the residence and vehicle, they arrested five people in the residence, including the two who had gotten into the stolen car earlier. They arrested the suspects, two women and three men, on suspicion of crimes including possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property and identity theft.
During the search of the residence, police found credit cards, Washington drivers licenses and personal and financial documents of dozens of people. They also found and seized equipment used to make fraudulent identifications and financial documents.
In the stolen vehicle they found multiple crowbars, suspected stolen credit cards, gloves, screwdrivers and a brass knuckle-shaped stun gun.
(Bellevue Police photo)
Multiple shaved keys and narcotics were recovered inside a small backpack that officers had observed one of the suspects place inside the vehicle. A stolen credit card was also recovered from the center console. Investigators were able to link the stolen vehicle and one of the suspects to an April 7 vehicle prowl in Bellevue.Investigators are contacting victims, including multiple Bellevue residents, and the investigation is being forwarded to the King County Prosecutor’s Office for consideration of charges.
We’ll keep an eye on the case to see if any local crimes turn out to be part of it.
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