SeaTac Police / King County Sheriff’s Office are saying ‘If he had only seen the red flags, this guy might not have landed in jail!’:

On Feb. 11, 2021 at 9:39 a.m., a SeaTac deputy was on routine patrol, driving along the 16500 block of International Boulevard South.

The deputy noticed a male exit a truck, leave the engine running and walk into a hotel room. A quick check of the license plate showed the vehicle had been stolen out of Thurston County.

When the male returned back to the truck, the deputy was waiting and detained the driver. Why was he driving a stolen truck? The male claimed he met an unknown person three days ago in the parking lot of a gas station. That person was offering to sell the truck to him for the bargain price of $2000.00. He claimed that he didn’t know the truck was stolen, despite the fact he didn’t receive any paperwork with the purchase (first red flag), and that you had to start the truck with a knife (second red flag). When asked if this transaction seemed rather strange to him, he agreed but said “it was too good of a deal to pass up.”

Incident to arrest, deputies found 27 blue pills labeled “M30″ on his person (an illicit substitute for oxycodone, according to the DEA). The truck was returned to its rightful owner and pills placed into evidence.

The male, a Graham resident, was taken to the King County Jail for Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and Investigation of a Controlled Substance violation.

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