Trooper Spots Stolen Bike in Shoreline -- One He Had Just Sold

You might say a Washington State Trooper always gets his bike.

Last week, a state trooper spotted a bike he had recently sold on-line to a college student on Capitol Hill in Seattle -- inside a suspicious vehicle another trooper found partially blocking a road in Shoreline.

The bike had, in fact, been stolen just days after the trooper sold it, and he subsequently confiscated it and returned it to the rightful owner.

It all started on the morning of April 25, when a state trooper arrived at a disabled vehicle that was partially blocking State Route 523 (NE 145th) near 12th Avenue NE in Shoreline.

According to Trooper Julie Judson, WSP spokeswoman, the driver, a 34-year-old Seattle man, was hurriedly attempting to change a tire on the car, a black Honda Accord.

The trooper on the scene noticed a bicycle in the car with its serial numbers ground off, along with a grinder and a Ruger handgun, all clearly visible inside the car.

Soon another trooper arrived to assist, and immediately recognized the bike by scratches on the frame. He had sold that bike just weeks earlier to the student. The driver merely claimed it was his bike.

But the trooper called the student he had sold the bike to, who confirmed it had been stolen just days after he bought if from the trooper.

The bike was later returned to the rightful owner. And the driver was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of being a felon in possession of a firearm.