At approximately midnight on Thursday Dec. 6, an attempted robbery occurred at Fall City Firearms. Residents of Unincorporated King County in the Ames Lake and Tolt Hill neighborhoods were alerted of police activity in the neighborhood at around 12:30 a.m. by a circling police helicopter and sirens. A resident on the Tolt Hill side recalls hearing voices yelling, “Hey, stop that right now,” at this time, and mentions that her neighbor spotted three individuals, who were allegedly the suspects, walking through his property.
Members of the community were able to offer some first-hand details on the nature of the King County Sheriff’s pursuit of the suspects. The suspects had crashed off of Highway 202/Redmond-Fall City Road NE on the 2700 block of Tolt Hill Road and ran onto property in the Quail Creek community on Ames Lake Road. Another resident in the community heard the crash around midnight and then the sheriff’s helicopter circling just a few minutes later. Approximately 10-12 police vehicles and the Guardian One helicopter were involved in the search for five fugitives. At around 1:09 a.m., residents reported hearing the helicopter’s loudspeaker broadcasting, “Come out with your hands up. You’re under arrest. We’re doing a search of the area.” All the fugitives were caught by the King County Sheriff’s Department.
Lee Stallman, owner of Fall City Firearms, was informed by the King County Sheriff’s Department at 2:05 a.m. about the attempted break-in. Per Stallman, the Sheriff had spotted a car with five masked men in front of the firearms store and evidently spooked them off, resulting in the subsequent chase and arrests. This is not the first time that criminal activity has occurred at Fall City Firearms. In Sept. of 2023 at 4 a.m., individuals crashed through the front door with a stolen vehicle. Stallman was present at the store and scared off the intruders by yelling, “Building occupied.” Since that event, Stallman has installed large concrete blocks in front of the store and a system of connected bars inside the glass doors to deter further car assisted break-ins. Luckily, no theft occurred this time either.
The King Country Sheriff’s Department has released some information regarding the identities of the suspects. One 20 year old was taken to the King County Jail and four teenagers were booked into the King County Juvenile Detention Center. Two stolen vehicles, a Hyundai and Kia, were also recovered from the crime scene and have been linked to the suspects. No charges have been placed yet, although first degree burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, and attempting to elude the police have been recommended.