A 30-year-old male is in custody on investigation of assault following a stabbing in the Overlake area this morning near 148th Ave NE and NE 24th St. Just before 8:00 am, officers received a call that a person was stabbed multiple times and the suspect was seen walking away from the area.
Officers immediately helped the 34-year-old male victim with his wounds until medics arrived and transported him to the hospital with serious injuries. Officers saturated the area searching for the suspect. In less than two hours, a Redmond police officer spotted someone matching the suspect’s description outside the Overlake Safeway, about two blocks from the crime scene. The suspect was quickly identified and arrested. He had placed socks over his distinctive shoes in an effort to avoid identification.
After his arrest, officers discovered the suspect had a no-bail Department of Corrections warrant out for his arrest for Escape Community Custody.
Five traffic officers cited 36 drivers during a two-hour long speed emphasis on Coal Creek Parkway on Tuesday, September 27th. The drivers were ticketed for speeding, cellphone use (E-DUI) and modified muffler violations. The speed emphasis is part of the police department’s coordinated anti-crime initiative.
The department has received dozens of complaints from residents and construction workers on Coal Creek who don’t feel safe because of the excess speed of some drivers. “These high visibility patrols not only remind the cited drivers to slow down, but every other driver who sees the patrols will automatically slow down,” said Captain Landon Barnwell.
During the emphasis, one of the officers walked into a business and immediately recognized a person suspected of stealing a $2400 bicycle from REI. The officer looked outside the business and saw the bright yellow bike. The suspect admitted to the theft, was arrested and booked into jail.
There will be more speed emphasis patrols throughout the city in the weeks ahead.
Officer Kealii Akahane has been awarded the Medal of Valor, and Officers Jeff Sebers and Caleb Worthington have been awarded the Lifesaving award for rescuing a young man in distress. The man had jumped into Phantom Lake with 50-pounds of weights in his backpack.
Officer Akahane coming out of the water (left) – Officers Akahane, Worthington & Sebers (right)
Without regard for his own safety, Officer Akahane jumped into the deep murky water and brought the man to the surface. Officers Sebers and Worthington pulled him over the railing, began CPR, and saved the man’s life. The family reports he is doing well.
Officer Akahane is only the third recipient in the department’s history who has received the Medal of Valor.
If you or someone you love is in crisis, help is a phone call away. 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝟗𝟖𝟖 – the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for support. It’s free & confidential.
Bellevue police, in partnership with Home Depot, is working to reduce shoplifting and criminal activity in and around the business. Since January, officers have arrested well over 50 suspects at this location for crimes including shoplifting, robbery, and possession of a stolen vehicle, among others.
Stolen pressure washer
A recent emphasis patrol, which included uniformed officers, the Downtown Unit and undercover detectives, stopped two suspects from trafficking stolen goods. Loss prevention alerted officers that a vehicle that arrived in the parking lot was associated with a recent theft of a pressure washer at the Home Depot in Bothell. Detectives watched as one of the suspects sold a pressure washer to another person in the parking lot.
Detectives located pictures of the Bothell theft, and the suspects wore the same clothing. They were arrested and booked into jail. Both were released from jail the following day.
Each sector captain in the city is routinely analyzing crime statistics from the police department’s new Transparency and Accountability dashboards to identify area hots spots for criminal activity. They then develop specific anti-crime operations for that area. The operations are conducted on different days and times to be the most effective.
Bellevue police detectives need your help identifying and locating an assault suspect. The man is accused of an unprovoked attack near 120th Ave NE and NE 1st St just before 1:00 pm Thursday, August 25th. Video shows a 62-year-old Bellevue resident walking along the sidewalk when the suspect comes up from behind him and allegedly hits him repeatedly with an 18” metal tool. The suspect was wearing a black hoodie with some detailing, black camo pants and a facemask.
Detectives believe the suspect ran to a nearby business and fled the scene in a green Kia Soul.
The victim was transported to the hospital and is being treated for his injuries.
If you see someone or a car matching this description or recognize this person, please call 911 with the information.
Bellevue detectives arrested a 29-year-old male and 24-year-old female at a Renton hotel Friday. The pair is suspected of multiple car thefts from car dealerships across the state. Investigators say on August 2, 2022, the two drove a suspected stolen vehicle to a Bellevue dealership and asked the salesperson to move a similar vehicle to compare with theirs. They then asked for the Carfax report, and when the salesman returned, both vehicles were gone.
Detectives believe this duo is responsible for many other area thefts. Both have felony warrants for their arrest in Moses Lake on charges of Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and Attempted to Elude Police. Moses Lake police arrested both suspects, and after they bailed out of jail, they failed to appear for their court dates.
During a search warrant at the couple’s hotel, detectives recovered a stolen BMW, a stolen gun, various key fobs and multiple pieces of suspected stolen credit cards, checks and IDs.
Bellevue detectives have busted three major regional organized retail theft rings responsible for well over $100,000 in stolen merchandise.
June 24, 2922 Louis Vuitton Theft
In one case, four suspects are charged, three with working together to steal over $93,000 in handbags from Louis Vuitton in Bellevue, and the fourth with selling the stolen bags. Investigators say the crew hit the same Louis Vuitton twice in June 2022. Detectives found the stolen bags for sale online, set up a buy, and arrested one of the suspects. The King County Prosecutor charged Billy Chambers, Memory Yearby and Earnetra Turner with two counts of Organized Retail Theft in the 1st Degree. In addition, Trey Kendall was charged with Trafficking in Stolen Property in the 1st Degree. All four have extensive criminal histories, according to charging documents.
June 19, 2022 Louis Vuitton Theft
“These suspects were aggressive and coordinated in their efforts and often physically confronted employees or security who stood in their way,” said Captain Shelby Shearer. “These crew also caused significant damage to the stores during the thefts, causing some businesses to close for the day to clean up the mess.”
A second case (photos above) involves a 24-year-old suspect accused of multiple thefts totaling nearly $13,000 from Bellevue’s Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack in October and November 2021. Detectives say Janay Luckey brazenly walked into the stores, cut security tags off merchandise and left without paying. She’s then accused of selling the merchandise online. The King County Prosecutor’s Office charged Luckey with Organized Retail Theft in the 1st Degree and two counts of Trafficking in Stolen Property in the 1st Degree. She is also charged with five counts of organized retail theft and trafficking out of Seattle, totaling more than $84,000 in those cases.
Finally, a third case (photos above) involves a nearly $7,000 theft from Ulta in Factoria. Detectives say two suspects stole 62 bottles of perfume. One of the suspects was arrested in Kent, and charges are pending against the other, who is also a suspect in the Louis Vuitton theft from above. The pair allegedly used a rental car in the theft. The merchandise was returned to Ulta.
“We joined the state’s Organized Retail Task Force committed to cracking down on this crime,” said Captain Shearer. “These cases involved regional collaboration and partnerships with other law enforcement agencies and the affected businesses. Arresting these suspects reduces crime not only in Bellevue but regionally.”
Bellevue police detectives are investigating five robberies/thefts where a couple stole jewelry from pedestrians. The victims described the suspects as a Middle Eastern male & female, sometimes with two kids in the car. The suspects create a chaotic and confusing scene for the victims, even frisking them looking for items to steal. In four of the cases, the victims were in their 70s of Asian or South Asian descent and didn’t speak English. They got confused and didn’t understand what the suspects were saying. The suspects have been associated with four separate vehicles, most likely rental cars. It’s suspected they are part of an organized crime ring operating along the west coast.
Please spread the word to family members and friends who may be vulnerable. Call 911 immediately if you feel threatened or are in danger.
Detectives arrested a 34-year-old Bellevue man for making a sex date with a 15-year-old boy, but the boy was actually an undercover vice detective. The King County Prosecutor’s Office charged Hemant Kurmi with two counts, Communication with a Minor for Immoral Purposes and Attempted Commercial Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
A detective created an online social media account and says Kurmi contacted him through this fake profile. The conversation quickly turned into a conversation about sex. The detective told the suspect he was 15 years old, in high school and still lived with his parents. Despite that knowledge, investigators say Kurmi still made a date and showed up at the meeting location in Bellevue.
Detectives were waiting for the suspect and arrested him without incident. He was booked into jail on July 20, 2022, and prosecutors requested $75,000 bail. The judge set bail at $37,5000, and Kurmi posted bail and was released on July 25, 2022.
“This was a case of sugaring, which we are seeing a lot more recently,” said Captain Shelby Shearer. “We often see juveniles and other vulnerable people engage in relationships in exchange for material goods and money. They’re looking for a sugar daddy.” The danger arises when the victims don’t realize they are being groomed for sex or sex trafficking, Shearer added.
Parents are encouraged to pay attention to any unusual gifts or expensive items that simply appear and to be involved and monitor their child’s social media contacts. It’s also a good idea to talk with kids about the dangers of these kinds of grooming tactics.
If you or someone you know is a victim of human sex or labor trafficking, you are encouraged to contact Bellevue police at ViceHT@bellevuewa.gov. Call 911 if you are in immediate danger.
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