The King County Sheriff’s Office took to social media to explain a traffic stop near Truck Town in North Bend that led to an arrest, a recovered stolen vehicle, a stolen handgun, an AR-15 rifle, drugs – and a child in the backseat.
Around 1AM, Sunday, December 1, 2019, KCSO Deputy S. Moore spotted a suspicious vehicle on westbound I-90 near the SE 468th Ave exit in North Bend. The car had tabs that expired in 2012. A check of the license not only showed the registration was long expired, but also indicated the white car should actually be black.
That information led Dep. Moore to stop the vehicle, where the driver admitted that his license was suspended – and things progressed from there.
The car also had an expired trip permit in the rear window that had been altered to make it appear current, AND the car’s VIN did not match the license plate. The VIN indicated the vehicle had been stolen in Tukwila.
But it keeps going… KCSO said “the ignition was damaged and a ‘shaved’ key (a favorite tool of car thieves) had been used to start the car. Yet, the driver claimed he had no idea the car was stolen.”
And going… in the back seat of the vehicle was the driver’s small child, who was eventually safely returned to his mom.
And going… after the driver was arrested, the car’s true owner was contacted who signed a consent to search the vehicle which turned up one gram of methamphetamine in the center console and two handguns – one of them stolen – and a AR-15 rifle in the trunk.
The driver will face felony charges. KCSO praised Deputy Moore for the stop the ensuing investigation that got a stolen gun off the streets.
