SEATTLE, Wash. — The pursuit of a car thief ended in Lake Washington this morning when Seattle police arrested a man suspected of stealing a car and then using it to hit a patrol car as police pursued him.
The man then abandoned the stolen car and ran into Lake Washington, where he tread water for almost half an hour before police arrested him.
According to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), the man stole an SUV from a driveway on 15th Avenue Northeast shortly before 8 am, as the victim was unloading the car.
SPD says the car owner had an AirTag in the vehicle and used it to locate the suspect.
Police then found the suspect, a 38-year-old man, sitting in the stolen vehicle near the Riviera Place Northeast in the Matthews Beach neighborhood.
SPD says the man then reversed the stolen car, hitting a patrol car with an officer inside.
The man continued to reverse through a yard, stopping only when he collided with the wall of a nearby home.
Police say that when police approached the car after it had come to a stop, the suspect pointed a gun at officers and then ran out of the car, dropped the gun, ran across the yard, and jumped into Lake Washington.
Over the next 25 minutes, the suspect tread water and refused to come to the shore. Police say the suspect told them he had multiple active warrants, something the department confirms in his statement, and that he was worried about going to jail.
Eventually, the man swam to shore, where police say he was evaluated by the Seattle Fire Department medics, who said he spit out a white substance that was later identified as fentanyl.
Police say they arrested the man for stealing the SUV, felony assault, and unlawfully possessing a firearm due to being a convicted felon. According to the department, his case is still under investigation.
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