Renton detectives arrested a Kent man, referred to as a “prolific car thief,” in Burien on Nov. 7.
Footage released by the Renton Police Department of 37-year-old Curt Cox of Kent on Nov. 7 showed police discovering a firearm on the ground where law enforcement handcuffed him.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Cox in two cases on Nov. 8. Prosecutors charged Cox with theft of a motor vehicle for a July 2024 incident, and with possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful possession of firearm in the second degree in a second case.
According to the Renton Police Department, police arrested Cox for being suspected of stealing a truck in July from Valley Medical Center in Renton.
“When Cox was arrested, he attempted to flee and dropped or tossed a loaded stolen gun and stolen car keys,” stated the department. “He also had a different stolen car.”
According to charging documents, at the time of Cox’s arrest, the King County Superior Court had issued a bench warrant for his arrest for four felony cases, all involving charges of possession of a stolen vehicle after he failed to appear for a review hearing on June 7 in drug court.
“A review of pending cases reflects the defendant has had more than 30 bench warrants issued for his arrest,” stated charging documents.
Cox holds a criminal history of 13 convictions involving cases including taking and attempted taking of a vehicle without permission, possession of a stolen vehicle, vehicular prowling, and more.
According to the Renton Police Department, records show Cox holds 41 prior arrests.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, an investigation identified Cox in the theft of a truck from Valley Medical Center in Renton on July 15 from a man visiting his mother at the hospital.
According to a second affidavit, the vehicle Cox was driving at the time of his arrest was stolen out of a parking garage in SeaTac on Oct. 3, 2024. The firearm recovered on the ground where law enforcement arrested Cox on Nov. 7 was stolen during a vehicular prowling incident on Oct. 28 that was investigated by the Seattle Police Department.
Cox attempted to run from law enforcement after a uniformed arrest team contacted him on Nov. 7 in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 11800 block of 1st Avenue South in Burien, according to the affidavit. Officers blocked Cox’s escape route and ordered him to lie prone and crawl a distance from a firearm prior to handcuffing him.
Prosecutors requested the court set Cox’s bail at $50,000 in both of the cases filed on Nov. 8, totalling $100,000.
According to an email from Douglas Wagoner, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, after hearing from both prosecutors and Cox’s defense, the court set Cox’s bail at $75,000.
The court scheduled Cox’s arraignment for Nov. 21 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center.
