Kent Public Works employees help stop, catch wire thief

Two city of Kent Public Works employees helped Kent Police stop a reported wire theft attempt in the area of Fourth Avenue South and Willis Street.

Multiple officers responded at about 1:43 p.m. Jan. 14 to the reported theft, according to a Jan. 20 Kent Police Facebook post.

Two city engineering techs were working on site when they witnessed a man reportedly stealing wire from the junction boxes, according to police. These are the boxes that control the intersection signals, the cameras and are the link between the signals and the railroad crossing arms for the Union Pacific Railroad tracks just west of the location. To be clear, the boxes do not control the railroad arms themselves but do talk to the arms to help ease congestion around the tracks when the arms are activated.

One city employee called 911 to give a description, and get the officers en route. The suspect caught on that he was being watched, according to police. He abandoned his bike and trailer and tried to walk away unseen. An employee trailed at a respectable distance, keeping an eye on him and calling 911 to give updates. He reported that the suspect ran southbound up the northbound off-ramp to Highway 167.

Officers quickly responded and thanks to the two witnesses they had an excellent physical suspect description and his direction of travel, according to police. An officer drove onto southbound SR 167, saw the man near the northbound lanes and circled back around. The man crossed over to the west side of the highway and tried to get away in the area near the former LA Fitness building. Another officer was nearby and responded to the parking lot to meet the man.

The man reportedly had stripped off his blue outer shirt prior to contact by the officers. One of the city employees saw this and reported that the man was now wearing the different color shirt.

The man was positively identified by one of the Public Works employees. An employee also had managed to take a photo of the suspect near one of the junction boxes before he tried to run off. In the photo, the man reportedly was kneeling next to the open box with wires seen hanging out, according to police.

The initial estimate for the damage caused is $10,000, according to police. This could go up as the repairs reveal the extent of the damage. The amount of wire the suspect attempted to steal was worth around $100.

Officers arrested a 34-year-old Burien man for investigation of malicious mischief, according to police. Officers transported him to King County jail. He denied his involvement and denied being on Highway 167.