Suspected pharmacy thieves arrested

Published 12:29 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

BELLEVUE – Three men arrested last week are part of a crime ring that has targeted pharmacies for the past 10 months, including two in North Bend, Bellevue police said.

The three suspects, ages 19, 20 and 23, were apprehended at about 3 a.m. on Oct. 15 after attempting to break into the Bellegrove Pharmacy in Bellevue, according to police reports. The men were stopped by Bellevue police officers a few blocks away from the pharmacy located in the 1500 block of 116th Avenue.

Bellevue Police Department spokesman Michael Chiu said the three men – one from Enumclaw and two from Sumner – are suspected of 27 break-ins dating back to January of this year. The suspects, according to Chiu, have robbed pharmacies in Auburn, Bellevue, Kirkland, Mill Creek, North Bend, Renton, Shoreline and Woodinville.

The men are suspected of breaking into two North Bend locations on May 18, possibly late in the evening of May 17, said Chiu. What was taken from those two locations, one a medical clinic and one a pharmacy, had yet to be released by police, he added.

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