Suspected car thief arrested

Police arrested a man late on June 1 who attempted to steal a car from an EvCC parking lot.

Off-duty Campus Security Officers noticed an individual having difficulty getting their car to move and approached the individual to ask if they could help, said Bob Wright, director of campus safety and emergency management.

“As they were talking to the individual, another vehicle pulled up and an occupant exited the vehicle, shouting ‘that's my car!’” said Wright. Officer Kikuchi managed to take the keys away. 

“The suspect fled on foot but was subsequently located and apprehended by Everett Police Officers,” Wright said.

The victim, an international student at EvCC, said that he was playing badminton at the Student Fitness Center when a man approached him, asking if he had hit his car in a parking lot. He told the man that he was talking to the wrong person. The man asked where he had parked his car and he told him.

After finishing playing badminton, he realized that he had lost his car key and searched the gym without success. His friend suggested he check his car and drove him to the parking lot.

“When I arrived, [the suspect] was trying to reverse the car,” said the victim. “We shouted and the guy ran away.”

Together with the campus security officer, they chased the suspect but he fled into a house. The officer then called the police, who arrested the suspect.

“I was so glad that the campus security officer and the police acted quickly,” said the victim.

Story by Johan Chandra and Shireen Gul