27-year-old Woodinville man arrested for series of pharmacy robberies in King County
BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Bellevue Police detectives have arrested a 27-year-old Woodinville man in connection with a Bellevue pharmacy robbery and two other pharmacy burglaries in King County, police said Thursday.
On Feb. 1, the King County Sheriff's Office responded to a theft at the Rite Aid in Kenmore. A white man jumped the pharmacy counter and stole prescription cough syrup. Similarly, on Feb. 2, the sheriff's office responded for another theft from a pharmacy at the QFC in Shoreline. Again, a white man jumped the pharmacy counter and stole prescription cough syrup.
In the latter case, deputies were able to locate a handprint left by the suspect, Bellevue police said. The print was collected and submitted through King County AFIS for identification.
On Feb. 4, Bellevue Police responded to a report of a pharmacy robbery at the Bartell Drugs, on the 11900 block of Northeast Eighth Street. According to witnesses, a white man jumped over the pharmacy counter, demanded prescription cough syrup and stated that he had a gun. The suspect fled the area on foot, but a traffic camera later showed him getting into a silver Toyota pickup.
On Feb. 29, King County AFIS determined that the handprint lifted by King County deputies from the Shoreline incident had a match in the system. The suspect was subsequently identified in video surveillance from all three incidents, as well as witnesses. He is also the registered owner of the silver Toyota pickup involved in the Bellevue robbery.
Detectives from the Bellevue Police Department and King County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant on the suspect's Woodinville home, where they found clothing that matched the clothing worn by the suspect in all three cases, police said.
The suspect was arrested Tuesday and booked into the King County Jail on one count of second-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree burglary. The suspect's name has been withheld pending charges filed by the King County Prosecutor's Office.