SeaTac Police / King County Sheriff’s Office is reporting about a recent discovery of an occupied stolen vehicle in a SeaTac motel parking lot:

“This car has been giving me nothing but trouble!”

For one King County man, this was a major understatement.

On Jan. 13, 2021, SeaTac Police deputies were called to check the parking lot of a motel in the 20600 block of Military Road South.

Deputies were advised there were two individuals looking at parked vehicles and our caller was concerned the pair might intend to break in to the cars.

Deputies arrived and found the men sitting in a green Ford Escape backed into a parking stall. The car had no front plate and the driver was wearing gloves.

Deputies asked the men if they were staying at the motel. The male in the driver’s seat replied “This car has been giving me nothing but trouble,” claiming he had been trying to start the SUV for the past ten minutes. Deputies asked dispatch to run a check of the license plate and the car came back as stolen. Both men were immediately detained.

The passenger denied knowledge that the vehicle was stolen and claimed he had just met the driver, who offered him a ride. Because the driver confirmed this, and deputies were unable to prove otherwise, the passenger was released.

Deputies found that the driver of the vehicle had an arrest warrant from the city of Kent, so he was booked into the Kent jail. The felony investigation of the stolen vehicle will be handled by SeaTac detectives.

As a reminder, we do not show suspect’s faces until they have been formally charged.

Photos courtesy King County Sheriff’s Office