Not long after 3 PM on Thursday afternoon, Seattle Police Department officers with a K-9 unit began searching yards in the area of 25th Avenue NE and NE 65th Street, assisting the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office with a robbery case.
Our K-9 unit is currently assisting @SnoCoSheriff on a robbery case in the Ravenna area. Traffic shut down on 25th/65th NE
— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) August 1, 2013
A neighbor in the area got a picture of a group of officers searching along 26th Avenue NE.
As officers searched, streets were blocked by SPD patrol cars. Southbound 25th Avenue NE was blocked for a time, then officers moved eastward.
KIRO’s Chopper 7 was in the area for some time, and we snagged a couple screenshots from the live feed:
This (fuzzy) shot is of the K-9 unit searching down an area street.
And this shot is of a white van on the 2100 block of NE 61st Street that may be related to the case. Police were calling for a tow truck for this vehicle (per scanner) during the time when all the other activity was happening in the area.
We’ll update this post when we have more information.
UPDATE (4:33 PM): MyNorthwest.com is reporting that the suspect is Timothy Lussier, a convicted felon being sought by Everett police in connection to an armed robbery in July.
A violent offender task force tracked [Lussier] down to the Kenmore area Thursday, where he fled in a stolen car.
“There was a brief pursuit that followed and the suspect then ditched the stolen vehicle in the Ravenna area,” Ireton [with the Sonohomish County Sheriff’s Office] said.
Lussier is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, call 911 immediately.
Picture of Timothy Lussier (Washington’s Most Wanted)
UPDATE (4:52 pm): The Everett Herald describes Lussier as being 6 feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds. He is 35 years old.
UPDATE (11:37 PM): Lots of folks, ourselves included, reported hearing hovering helicopter noise again this evening, starting around 10 PM.
Turns out it was air support courtesy the King County Sheriff’s office, looking for the suspect. But they didn’t find much:
Assist to SPD looking for a suspicious person in a greenbelt near Ravenna…..there was no person, only a family of raccoons!
— KCSOAirsupport (@KCSOAirsupport) August 2, 2013
This whole thing is harshing my walk schedule and my bedtime.