Kent Police arrested a 14-year-old boy for investigation of eluding and possession of a stolen vehicle and took two 16-year-old boys into custody who also were in the vehicle.
All three boys ran from an officer after he followed the vehicle and saw the young driver turn down a dead-end road and hit a curb during the just before 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 incident on the East Hill, according to a Kent Police March 4 Facebook post.
An officer was on routine patrol when he spotted three masked juveniles trying to put a bicycle into the trunk of a Kia near Southeast 240th Street and 133rd Avenue SE, according to police. The group saw the patrol vehicle, quickly dropped the bicycle and jumped into the Kia without closing the trunk. The officer ran the license plate and Valley Communications 911 confirmed the Kia had been stolen in Tukwila.
After the short pursuit and the Kia up on a curb, the officer pinned the vehicle into the curb. The driver exited and ran southbound. The other two teens ran northwest into a neighborhood, according to police.
Multiple officers responded to assist and set a perimeter around the area as a K-9 team headed to the scene. The K-9 team tracked the teen driver to a hiding spot in the bushes. When he saw the dog approaching, he jumped out with his hands up and was taken into custody without further incident, according to police.
Meanwhile, neighbors were calling 911 to report two juveniles running through their yards. Officers began to vector towards the two teens based off the 911 calls. Another officer utilized a drone to fly over the area where they were last seen and located the two teens on a nearby trail.
At this point the two boys were walking directly towards two officers who took the teens into custody without further incident. One of the boys reportedly had his mask still in his pocket. An officer recognized him from an arrest earlier in the week when he was associated with a different stolen vehicle, according to police.
Charges against the passengers are pending results of checking for fingerprints from the Kia.
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