Deputies looking to ID suspect who hit homeowner with fire poker, stole 3 vehicles during crime spree
KING COUNTY, Wash. - A man was attacked and cut up while trying to protect his wife and kids from a home invasion robbery suspect after that suspect stole three vehicles and committed multiple car prowls and burglaries in a two-hour period, police said.
King County Sheriff's detectives are asking for your help to identify this suspect they say is responsible for it all after residents in a neighborhood east of Redmond made multiple calls to 911.
Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for the tip that leads to his arrest
The ordeal started on Dec. 12 around 5:43 a.m. when a deputy was flagged down about a rollover crash involving a stolen Ford truck abandoned on NE 124th Way. The deputy found the vehicle unoccupied when they arrived and a witness informed them that the suspect had ran off.
Just 10 minutes later, Andy Chakraborty called 911 after he woke to the sound of breaking glass and found a man in his hallway.
"I said ‘who are you, what are you doing in my house?’" homeowner Andy Chakraborty recounted.
Detectives believe the suspect that crashed the stolen truck had then shattered the glass on Chakraborty’s door. The suspect was armed with a fireplace poker.
"He said, ‘I need my car keys,’ and I asked him, ‘well, why would your car keys be in my house?’ He said, ‘this is my house!’" according to Chakraborty.
Chakraborty said he tried to talk the man into leaving. It didn't work.
"He then grabbed the poker thing he used, hit me and you can actually still see the scar. I was bleeding like anything as you can figure with a scalp wound, and then I immediately raised my hand and you can see the big gash where he got me with one of those little clicky knives," Chakraborty said.
The suspect also sprayed him with a can of WD-40
Chakraborty said a hand surgeon later told him that he was lucky-- the suspect was about a quarter-inch from severing a nerve that makes the hand function.
He was able to wrestle the poker away from the suspect and hit him with it. The suspect then took off running.
Minutes later, detectives say the suspect was caught on Ring camera footage trying to get a nearby homeowner to open the door.
Suspect was last seen Tukwila after abandoning stolen car a 1/4 mile from Starfire Sports
He left the home without entering, but multiple 911 calls started coming in about car prowls and vehicle thefts. Detectives say the suspect then stole a work truck and crashed it into a ditch. He then stole another vehicle, detectives said.
"If he’s willing to do those things, steal a car, burglarize homes, assault members of our community, and then flee again in another stolen car, there’s no telling what he’s going to do," said Sgt. Tim Meyer with the King County Sheriff's Office.
King County Major Crimes detectives are asking for the public’s help to identify him.
If you recognize the man, submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers by texting 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by submitting a tip on the P3 Tips app. You can also submit tips at www.P3Tips.com. There is a cash reward offered of up to $1,000 for information that leads to his arrest.
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