Bellevue police break up alleged identity theft ring
SEATTLE -- Accompanied by a SWAT team, Bellevue police raided a suspected identity theft ring in West Seattle Wednesday morning.
Police arrived at the home, located in the 7300 block of 16th Avenue SW, Wednesday morning and arrested four men and a 15-year-old runaway girl.
Police believe the group was behind an unsophisticated but prolific theft ring that victimized people throughout Puget Sound.
On Wednesday, officers found a stockpile of more than 200 credit cards, a healthy mix of driver's licenses, passports, social security cards and black checks.
Officers also uncovered laptops and cell phones, all of which police believe were stolen from car prowls, burglaries and mailboxes in the area.
"We are still going through all the evidence, but several cities besides Bellevue have already been victimized," said Carla Iafrate of the Bellevue Police Department.
Anthony Badon lives next door to the home that was raided. He said he frequently saw large numbers of people, mostly in their 20s, milling around the house and being loud. He also said he sometimes heard a woman screaming in middle of the night.
"It sounded like torture," he said. "I'm serious, it's disturbing."
While the alleged thieves were prolific, Iafrate said there was nothing high-tech about the scheme.
"The level of sophistication doesn't appear to be that great," she said.
Police got a lead on the group while working a related case. They don't know if the thieves were successful in using the IDs, credit cards and blank checks, but detectives hope the seized laptops will provide evidence of that.
The bust comes on the heals of several publicized mail theft busts throughout the region, including one in Port Angeles where a man is accused of stealing more than 100 pounds of mail.
When he learned what his next door neighbors had been arrested for, Badon said he's going to change his habits.
"It makes me kind of paranoid because I always put my mail out," he said. "Hopefully they didn't get a hold of my stuff."
Police do not believe there's a connection between the Port Townsend case and Wednesday's arrests. Officers will now begin the long process of contacting the victims.
Police arrived at the home, located in the 7300 block of 16th Avenue SW, Wednesday morning and arrested four men and a 15-year-old runaway girl.
Police believe the group was behind an unsophisticated but prolific theft ring that victimized people throughout Puget Sound.
On Wednesday, officers found a stockpile of more than 200 credit cards, a healthy mix of driver's licenses, passports, social security cards and black checks.
Officers also uncovered laptops and cell phones, all of which police believe were stolen from car prowls, burglaries and mailboxes in the area.
"We are still going through all the evidence, but several cities besides Bellevue have already been victimized," said Carla Iafrate of the Bellevue Police Department.
Anthony Badon lives next door to the home that was raided. He said he frequently saw large numbers of people, mostly in their 20s, milling around the house and being loud. He also said he sometimes heard a woman screaming in middle of the night.
"It sounded like torture," he said. "I'm serious, it's disturbing."
While the alleged thieves were prolific, Iafrate said there was nothing high-tech about the scheme.
"The level of sophistication doesn't appear to be that great," she said.
Police got a lead on the group while working a related case. They don't know if the thieves were successful in using the IDs, credit cards and blank checks, but detectives hope the seized laptops will provide evidence of that.
The bust comes on the heals of several publicized mail theft busts throughout the region, including one in Port Angeles where a man is accused of stealing more than 100 pounds of mail.
When he learned what his next door neighbors had been arrested for, Badon said he's going to change his habits.
"It makes me kind of paranoid because I always put my mail out," he said. "Hopefully they didn't get a hold of my stuff."
Police do not believe there's a connection between the Port Townsend case and Wednesday's arrests. Officers will now begin the long process of contacting the victims.
And when some of their gang came by the same property after the bust and I collected some info to pass along to the police about those criminals. Seattle PD again wouldn't take that information either.
Dear fellow commentators, I am the neighbor featured in the video. I must have called 9-11 between 50 to a 100 times on these "neighbors". I have documented over 7 pages of their anti-social behavior and my various dealings with them and the property owner. I wanted to pass this information along to the SW precinct. Guess what they said? "Keep it". When I mentioned the screaming to the police (when I was lucky to see them after calling them so many times). They just shook their heads or said Vice might be interested but there was nothing they can do. Believe me crime like that does not exist in a vacuum but receives ALOT of help from the criminally negligent Seattle PD. It was the Bellevue PD and SWAT team that eventually did something because those guys were robbing everywhere especially on the Eastside where people are wealthier. I contacted every authority figure I could think of and was in the process of contacting the State DA just to give you an idea. The news clips are short and don't cover everything. There is a much larger back story.
If you feel there is suspicious activity going on in your neighborhood, REPORT IT! This is where you live! If I heard a woman screaming at night as if she was being tortured or seen a ridiculous amount of foot traffic, I'd report it to the police. I have children! One of my favorite mottos... "It's better to be safe than sorry."
If it sounded as though someone was being tortured in the middle of the night, why didn't the neighbors call the police??
@belsnickles You took the thought right out of my brain. That was EXACTLY what I was gonna say.
It's amazing how much trash/leaches there are unwilling to work for anything. Throw the book at the refuse!Â
Alleged?
Looks like quite a score.