On Dec. 5, 2020, SeaTac Police deputies were called to the 3300 block of South 194 Street (map below) for a trespassing call at Angle Lake Park. SeaTac is a contract city and partner of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Police say that when the deputy arrived, he spoke with a group of witnesses standing on the beach. The witnesses saw a man board someone’s boat. For the previous hour, the man had been yelling and honking the boat’s horn. According to witnesses, the suspect was still on the boat.

Deputies were able to locate the boat owner who told them that he had caught the male trying to steal his boat. The suspect had untied it, and attempted to hot wire it by breaking a lock on the engine compartment in an attempt to start it.

Deputies walked down the dock and located the suspect on the boat. Initially the suspect claimed he was trying to steal the boat in an attempt to get away from people, but deputies were unable to find anyone chasing him. While deputies were trying to coax the suspect off the boat, he was constantly looking over the side and muttering about people who were sneaking up to get him or peering under the boat cover to see if there were people waiting in there.

Thanks to the de-escalation training they receive, deputies eventually were able to convince the male to disembark. He was placed into custody and arrested without incident.

Incident to arrest, the suspect was searched and deputies were able to find stolen property on him associated with a car prowl incident in Pierce County two years ago.

The suspect, who is a resident of another state, was arrested and booked into the King County Jail on investigation of attempted boat theft.

“As a reminder, it is department policy not to show a suspect’s face until he has been formally charged.”

Photos courtesy King County Sheriff’s Office.