Bellevue Police make 23 arrests in May looting, recover stolen items
Jun 24, 2020, 11:57 AM
A mannequin lies inside of a ransacked store after it was looted on May 31, 2020 in Bellevue, Washington. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
Bellevue Police announced Tuesday that they’ve made nearly two dozen arrests and expect to make more, following looting and vandalism downtown and at Bellevue Square Mall on May 31, 2020. Video clips and photos shared by Bellevue residents and members of the public have helped lead to some arrests.
Police have recovered tens of thousands of dollars worth of stolen items, and are working to return the items to the businesses that own them. As part of the investigation, Bellevue police have made numerous arrests and confiscated weapons, drugs, and cash from the suspected looters.
Police Chief Steve Mylett says the looters were separate from the peaceful protesters who were calling for police reform after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
“The widespread violence that we witnessed in Bellevue on May 31 has absolutely no connection to the many lawful protests Bellevue has witnessed since George Floyd’s homicide,” Mylett said.
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The looters, he added, took advantage of the peaceful protests.
“We all should be repulsed that any individual or group would exploit a tragic event like Mr. Floyd’s death,” Mylett said.
One of the arrests was a 26 year-old-man, who police arrested at his Renton home Friday on charges of burglary, possession of stolen property, possession of methamphetamine, and dangerous weapons.
Police recovered merchandise stolen from Bellevue stores that included $19,000 worth of clothing, alcohol, tobacco, and other evidence, guns, ammunition, drugs, and paraphernalia that Mylett described as consistent with the sale and distribution of narcotics.
Bellevue Police plans to track down all who were involved in the looting late last month.
“To date, we have arrested or filed charges on 23 individuals,” Mylett said. “We have also identified close to 100 individuals that we will be contacting very soon.”
These crimes were well-organized, the police chief added, and not a crime of opportunity.
“We’re convinced that the same group that did it here, did it elsewhere. So we’re working with our regional partners to identify as many as we possibly can,” he said.
The KIRO Radio Newsdesk contributed to this report.
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