A month and a half of detective work by Sammamish Police paid off dramatically Monday morning when a raid involving Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams and two separate locations netted about $25,000 in stolen goods, plus drug-manufacturing equipment and a stolen shotgun.
The bust began at 5:30 a.m., when 14 SWAT officers, assisted by Sammamish Police, served a search warrant on a Renton house, where two convicted felons were known to live.
“We had prior information to expect that the subjects could be armed,” said Sammamish Police Detective Steve Perry Monday afternoon. “As a result of serving that search warrant, we now have one suspect in custody.”
That suspect is a 23-year-old Renton man.
The other person the police expected to find at the address, a 25-year-old Renton man, was not at home, and police are continuing to investigate him.
Besides the thousands of dollars worth of suspected stolen goods, including musical equipment, flat-screen televisions and computers, police also uncovered a small marijuana-growing operation. Along with the plants, there were timers, lamps, watering systems, air ducts and heat vents, and a book about how to grow marijuana.
“We also found scales and Ziploc bags; this was certainly growing for the purpose of selling,” Perry said.
A shotgun, believed to be stolen, was also found on the property, in violation of laws prohibiting convicted felons from possessing firearms.
Following the raid on the Renton home, the officers then served a search warrant at a Newcastle home.
A 35-year-old Newcastle man was taken into custody with probable cause for suspicion of stolen property.
A Newcastle woman in her 30s was charged with violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act – allegedly she had some methamphetamine on her person.
“There were also some items which we believe were being used to pack and distribute meth,” Perry said.
The three suspects are now being held in the King Country Jail in Seattle.
Police believe many of the items were stolen from homes in Sammamish.
