Suspect drives stolen car to WSP office, detectives call it the 'easiest auto theft arrest' ever

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Troopers arrested a 36-year-old man who they say drove a stolen car into the parking lot of the Washington State Patrol district office in Bellevue.

Officials said Micah Hatcher was arrested just days earlier for outstanding warrants and drug charges, and was contacting the WSP office to retrieve some belongings surrendered at the time of his previous arrest.

But a Facebook post and an alert driver prevented Hatcher from leaving the office in the stolen car.

Here's what happened, according to WSP:

"An alert motorist, recognizing a stolen vehicle he’d seen from a posting on a European motorist Facebook club, sees the vehicle driving in the Issaquah area.

The motorist gets video of the suspect driving around Issaquah and uses his cellular phone to report his observations and continues following it along I-90 between Issaquah and Bellevue.

The vehicle exited I-90 and drives into the WSP district office parking lot in Bellevue where the driver is ultimately arrested by troopers for auto theft.

Detectives say it’s the easiest auto theft arrest they’d ever had."


Hatcher was arrested and booked into King County Jail for possession of stolen property.