Seattle, WA - Seattle Man Charged in PATROL CAR THEFT
Charges of theft and escape have been filed against a Seattle man who is
accused of stealing a state trooper's patrol car after being stopped on the
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge.
The charges were brought against Filmon Arefaine Gebru, 20, who is accused of
first-degree theft and third-degree escape as a result of an episode that began
about 2 p.m.
According to charging papers, Trooper Michael Stracke was driving east on the
bridge when he noticed a black Dodge Stratus being driven by a man who wasn't
wearing a seat belt.
When Stracke stopped and questioned the driver, he noticed bloodshot eyes and
other indications of impaired driving, the papers state.
The driver, later identified as Gebru, was arrested, handcuffed and placed in
the back of the patrol car. The car, normally assigned to a district command
officer, had no partition separating the front and back seats, according to
charging papers. While Stracke was outside the car talking to a tow-truck driver
about towing the Dodge, the driver told him the suspect was in the front seat
of the patrol car, according to the papers.
Stracke turned and saw Gebru putting the car in gear. The trooper pulled his
weapon and yelled for Gebru to stop, but the patrol car accelerated, swerved
around Stracke into traffic and fled east on Highway 520 at high speed,
according to charging papers.
The stolen car was found abandoned near 130th Avenue Northeast and the
Bellevue-Redmond Road. A Bellevue police dog found Gebru nearby, according to
the papers. Investigators determined that Gebru, who is 5 feet 11 inches tall
and weighs 145 pounds, was able to slip his handcuffed hands from behind him
and get into the front seat of the patrol car, the papers state.
He was booked into the King County Jail, where he is being held in lieu of
$100,000 bail.
A case-scheduling hearing is set for next Wednesday