Stolen Car Suspect Busted In Part by “Yard Sale”

The strange chain of events began Saturday evening.

Kennewick police received a call about a car that had been stolen near Union and Clearwater, then a short time later, a call came to Benton County about a suspicious man in a vehicle. The Benton County caller said the man was sitting in a car outside their yard sale that had just ended, but he wouldn't leave, so they called authorities.

The caller gave a license plate number to the dispatcher, and bingo! it matched that of the stolen Kennewick car.

Richland police spotted the car parked further down the street at another yard sale, then it sped off. Officers gave chase, with the driver ending up on West Canal, then Columbia Center Boulevard.

The driver, whose name was not released, then pulled into a parking lot on SE Georgia Ave. and ran across the street into a random home in the 1400 block of Carson Street. The location was just off Columbia Center North by the river. Officers did not say if anyone was home at the time, but the man hid inside for at least an hour before he was extracted by a K-9 and the Tri City Regional SWAT Team.

The entire incident lasted about 2 hours.