UPDATED: Bellevue Police Investigating Suspicious Death

On 4/18/18 at approximately 7:41 p.m., the Bellevue Police Department and the Bellevue Fire Department responded to a report of an unconscious female outside of a house on the 600 block of 153rd Avenue Northeast.
 
When officers and firefighters arrived, they located the non-responsive woman in the backyard. Bellevue fire personnel attempted lifesaving measures for several minutes before she was declared dead.
 
Bellevue police detectives and the King County Medical Examiner responded to the scene to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the death.
 
The victim was later determined to be a 17-year-old girl from Snohomish County.
 
At this point in the investigation, her death does not appear to be from natural causes, though there were no obvious signs of trauma. The King County Medical Examiner will be doing an autopsy to determine a cause and manner of death.
 
All involved parties have been interviewed by Bellevue police detectives, and there is no known risk to the neighborhood or the public at large.
 
No further updates are expected today.

HAPPENING NOW

Bellevue Police Arrest Man in Case of Stolen Diamond, Valor.

Bellevue Police investigators traveled to Vancouver, WA, to arrest a man they believed used a military uniform and a story about a fake engagement to steal a diamond ring worth $100,000 from a Bellevue jewelry store before assaulting the store manager during his escape.

On February 22nd shortly after 7 p.m., a man dressed in military fatigues entered Diamond Inc. on Main Street in Bellevue and asked to see 3 to 5 carat diamond stones. The man claimed that he was about to be “deployed”, had just gotten engaged, and told the clerk that he was shopping for wedding rings. The store employee presented the man with a 5.54 carat marquise diamond. The suspect grabbed the stone from the sales person’s hand and ran from the store. The store manager chased after the suspect, who got into a vehicle that was being driven by an accomplice. The store manager grabbed onto the suspect’s uniform as he was getting into the getaway vehicle. The manager was dragged down the street by the vehicle a short distance, and then the suspect punched the manager in the face, causing him to fall. The manager suffered non life-threatening injuries, and suspect fled the scene in the vehicle.

uniform
The suspect used a military uniform and fake story to convince the employee to hand him an expensive diamond.

Bellevue crime scene investigators obtained fingerprints from the scene of the crime, which were processed by the Bellevue Police crime lab. Based on those fingerprints, Detectives identified the suspect, a 26 year-old resident of Vancouver, WA. The suspect was not a member of the armed forces.

Armed with the information, investigators with the Bellevue Special Operations Group (SOG) traveled to Vancouver, and, working with the Vancouver Police Department, arrested the suspect without incident last Friday. The suspect was transported to the King County Jail this week to face charges of second degree robbery. Investigators are continuing to work to identify the accomplice, as well as to locate the missing diamond.

 

Retired Police K-9 Roc Passes Away

It is with sadness that we report that retired Police K-9 Roc passed away unexpectedly. Roc was with his adoptive family when he passed away in his sleep.  Roc had been retired since December 2016, enjoying his retirement, playing ball with his four kids, going to numerous baseball games, and bossing around his first ever four legged dog pal, Badger.

Roc started his career with the Bellevue Police Department with Officer Brad Knudtsen in November of 2009.  He completed over 400 hours of initial training and was certified in March of 2010.  Roc was a handful in his early days, so full of energy and drive, that he routinely spun in circles trying to catch his tail. This spinning became his trademark. Roc’s work ethic was unrivaled. Roc was always ready to go catch bad guys, and he did so with gusto.

045FCDF5-7CCD-4714-80C4-1BCDDB2DE283Roc served the City of Bellevue and surrounding communities for nearly 7 years, amassing 85 captures and dozens of narcotics searches.  In October of 2016, Roc’s handler made the difficult decision to retire him early after a series of injuries threatened to leave him crippled. Roc will be missed by all members of the Bellevue Police Department.

Bellevue Police Arrest Bank Robbery Suspect

Yesterday, Bellevue Police investigators arrested a 24 year-old Seattle woman that is accused of robbing a Bellevue bank on March 22nd.

On Thursday, March 22nd shortly after 5 p.m., Bellevue Police responded to a reported bank robbery at the Chase Bank located at 10550 NE 8th Street. This was the second robbery at that bank in as many months. When police arrived, they learned that the female suspect had passed a note to the teller and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Evidence left by the suspect at the scene led investigators to identify the suspect, a 24 year-old Seattle resident. Early in the morning on April 12th, investigators with the Bellevue Special Operations Group (SOG), assisted by the Bellevue Police and Seattle SWAT teams, served a search warrant at the suspect’s residence in the Hillman City neighborhood of Seattle. The suspect was not home at the time, however while investigators were processing the scene, the suspect returned to the location and was arrested without incident. The suspect was interviewed by Detectives and later booked into the King County Jail for first degree robbery.

Bellevue Police Department Releases 2017 Annual Report

The Bellevue Police Department has released it’s annual report for 2017, highlighting numerous accomplishments and achievements by the department and its’ employees. The Department has produced an annual report each year since Bellevue was incorporated in 1953. Some of the notable accomplishments for 2017 include:

  • The city witnessed a significant decrease in residential burglaries (down 16
    2017 Annual Report FINAL_Page_01
    The Bellevue Police bicycle unit is featured on the cover of the department’s 2017 annual report.

    percent) as well as motor vehicle prowls (down 13 percent). Coordination between the patrol operations and investigations sections, as well as extensive work by our special operations group, led to the identification and arrest of a number of suspects involved in these types of crimes.

  • The department hired 24 new employees in 2017, despite the current national challenges related to recruitment and hiring. In November, the Police Department selected a marketing firm to manage a comprehensive recruiting and hiring ad campaign, including a standalone website, online ads, and search engine optimization. The campaign launched in early 2018.
  • The Police Department launched CompStat in May. CompStat is an intelligence-led model for policing that was pioneered by the New York City Police Department. The model uses data to identify crime trends and direct police resources to the areas where they can make the biggest impact on crime, taking into consideration the agency’s limited resources.
  • The total number of  reported traffic collisions and injury collisions are down to 5 year lows, due in part to proactive enforcement by the Bellevue Police traffic unit.

The City of Bellevue continues to enjoy one of the lowest crime rates for a community of its size, due in large part to the close relationship between the Police Department and the Bellevue community, as well as the diligent work of the men and women of the Bellevue Police Department. The annual report is available on the city of Bellevue’s website, or hard copies are available at Bellevue city hall or at the police substations in Crossroads and Factoria.

Bellevue Police Offer Tips For Preventing Mail Theft As Tax Day Nears

The theft of mail from mailboxes continues to occur in Bellevue. In fact, Bellevue Police have seen an uptick in mailbox thefts in the months leading up to tax season, when many residents are receiving and sending documents containing sensitive financial and personal information. Just two weeks ago, two of Bellevue Police Department’s K-9 officers were on patrol in the middle of the night in the Crossroads neighborhood when they observed a suspect stealing mail and packages from mailboxes along a residential street. Bellevue Police are also seeing cases involving locking mailboxes being broken into. The Bellevue Police Department continues to recommend the use of a locking mailbox instead of an unsecured mailbox, however they also recommend these additional steps to prevent theft of mail, which can then lead to further fraudulent activity:

Mail Theft

Bellevue Police Make Arrest in Mosque Fire

Investigators with the Bellevue Police Department have made an arrest in their investigation into a suspicious fire that damaged a vacant Bellevue mosque on Wednesday, March 21. The Islamic Center of Eastside, located at 14700 Main St., had previously been damaged by arson on Jan. 14, 2017 and was vacant at the time of this latest fire. Continue reading “Bellevue Police Make Arrest in Mosque Fire”