AUBURN, WA - Authorities with the Auburn Police Department (APD) said that a group of kids stole the car of the city's deputy mayor while council was in a meeting voting her into a new role.
According to FOX 13, on Tuesday night, December 17th, Auburn City Council voted Cheryl Rakes in as deputy mayor. During that meeting, police said that four kids were outside of city hall stealing her car, a Kia Soul. Police said they chased the suspects, but pulled back from the pursuit.
The kids reportedly dumped the stolen car at the Madison at River's Edge Apartments. The same complex was the sight of a double shooting back in September 2022. Police said that the kids damaged the ignition of the car and stole items from inside of it. In a statement, Rakes said, "I'm incredibly grateful to the Auburn Police Department and its officers for their work in recovering the vehicle quickly and safely."
According to KIRO7, Rakes said, "I was going to print out my speech I was going to make. That kind of stuff. I went back to my car at about 6:30 and my car was gone. So, I called my husband and said did you come pick up my car? And he's like no."
Investigators said they used their "Flock" license-reading cameras to track the stolen car to Kent and back to Auburn. The apartment complex where the car was found is about three blocks away from where Rakes lives. She said, "The whole column steering is all broken and they broke the back window."
There are no pictures of the suspects. Police believe four kids were involved, but as of this writing, have not made any arrests. Rakes said she is thankful her car wasn't used in any sort of crime or hurt anyone, but she isn't thrilled what the alleged thieves threw out of her car. She said, "I had some Christmas stuff I had in there that I just picked up and was going to take home after the council meeting."
Auto thefts have been an issue in Western Washington since the pandemic, however the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force released new data earlier in 2024 suggesting that auto thefts went down 30 percent from 2023. Jim Fuda with Crimestoppers said, "That's helpful, but like I said it's still going on and the problem with the Kia's is that not all of them have been fixed yet."
Auburn's new deputy mayor is looking at the positives in this like how the new flock camera's that were installed over the summer are paying off. Rakes said, "I'm very glad that we okayed the flock cameras and since the summer time they've recovered a lot of stolen cars."
Rakes hopes that what happened to her can open the eyes of lawmakers in Olympia on how the state needs to be tougher on teen crime. She said, "But there also needs to be accountability. And right now, they know they're not being held accountable."
According to FOX 13, on Tuesday night, December 17th, Auburn City Council voted Cheryl Rakes in as deputy mayor. During that meeting, police said that four kids were outside of city hall stealing her car, a Kia Soul. Police said they chased the suspects, but pulled back from the pursuit.
The kids reportedly dumped the stolen car at the Madison at River's Edge Apartments. The same complex was the sight of a double shooting back in September 2022. Police said that the kids damaged the ignition of the car and stole items from inside of it. In a statement, Rakes said, "I'm incredibly grateful to the Auburn Police Department and its officers for their work in recovering the vehicle quickly and safely."
According to KIRO7, Rakes said, "I was going to print out my speech I was going to make. That kind of stuff. I went back to my car at about 6:30 and my car was gone. So, I called my husband and said did you come pick up my car? And he's like no."
Investigators said they used their "Flock" license-reading cameras to track the stolen car to Kent and back to Auburn. The apartment complex where the car was found is about three blocks away from where Rakes lives. She said, "The whole column steering is all broken and they broke the back window."
There are no pictures of the suspects. Police believe four kids were involved, but as of this writing, have not made any arrests. Rakes said she is thankful her car wasn't used in any sort of crime or hurt anyone, but she isn't thrilled what the alleged thieves threw out of her car. She said, "I had some Christmas stuff I had in there that I just picked up and was going to take home after the council meeting."
Auto thefts have been an issue in Western Washington since the pandemic, however the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force released new data earlier in 2024 suggesting that auto thefts went down 30 percent from 2023. Jim Fuda with Crimestoppers said, "That's helpful, but like I said it's still going on and the problem with the Kia's is that not all of them have been fixed yet."
Auburn's new deputy mayor is looking at the positives in this like how the new flock camera's that were installed over the summer are paying off. Rakes said, "I'm very glad that we okayed the flock cameras and since the summer time they've recovered a lot of stolen cars."
Rakes hopes that what happened to her can open the eyes of lawmakers in Olympia on how the state needs to be tougher on teen crime. She said, "But there also needs to be accountability. And right now, they know they're not being held accountable."
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Comments
2024-12-20T23:08-0500 | Comment by: James
GOOD job kids ..............