Published September 22 2016
Bellevue police arrested a man late Wednesday who had been featured on Washington's Most Wanted. Detectives in the department's Special Operations Group spotted the man driving a stolen car in the Lake Hills neighborhood.
While on surveillance for a narcotics investigation, they saw the car and driver. A license plate check revealed that the car had been stolen in Kent.
The driver exited the car and shortly thereafter returned and left the area. Detectives followed the car to Renton, where the man parked in a drugstore parking lot. The detectives arrested him without incident and returned the car to its owner.
The suspect was identified as Thomas E. Lee, age 24. Lee had been featured on Washington's Most Wanted for a firearms violation and third-degree assault stemming from a theft in a Seattle department store in March. Lee was booked into jail on his warrants. Pending charges from Wednesday include possession of a stolen car and a drug violation.
The Special Operations Group addresses specific types of repeat crimes with an innovative, proactive approach. The team targets prolific, active criminals in an effort to lower the overall rate of reported crime. The team conducts plain-clothes surveillance of targeted areas and surveillance of known active criminals and then coordinates with the King County Prosecutor's Office to ensure that arrested suspects remain in custody. Additionally, the team works frequently with the investigative units of other agencies to help address multijurisdictional offenders.