A stolen motorcycle taken from Renton was recovered by Kent Police last week after an officer conducting extra patrols on the city’s East Hill spotted the bike parked on a sidewalk and a man standing nearby.
Police said the man walked away from the motorcycle when he saw Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) Officer Burns approach, leaving the bike behind.
Officer Burns determined that the motorcycle, a 2017 Honda CR250, had recently been sold and located its new owner. The owner confirmed that the motorcycle had been stolen the previous day in Renton and responded to retrieve it. She also brought security video that police said clearly showed a man and woman stealing the motorcycle.
Kent Police said Crime Reduction Unit Sgt. Goforth had seen the man who had been standing with the motorcycle enter a nearby house. After speaking with the homeowner, officers contacted the man, identified as a 24-year-old Auburn resident.
According to police, the man said he believed the motorcycle might be stolen but claimed it had been given to him by a man and woman inside the house.
A short time later, police said, a 26-year-old Kent man and a 31-year-old woman exited through the rear of the home and began walking away. Officers detained the pair without incident. Police said they matched the suspects shown in the security video and were identified by a witness.
The Kent man was booked into the King County Jail on a vehicle theft warrant from a prior incident. Officer Burns is conducting additional investigation and intends to seek charges against both suspects for possession of the stolen motorcycle, according to police.
Police said that CRU Officers are regularly out and about in Kent seeking crimes in progress and conducting complex investigations to get suspects into jail.
“Kent is not the best place to be standing on a sidewalk with a stolen bike, or to think you can quietly slink away without an officer noticing,” police said in a statement. “A better plan would be to not bring your stolen items into our city, Great job CRU!”
