Crime & Safety
Guns, Guitars and Drugs Recovered in Arrest of Three After Burglary Spree
Police recovered a large amount of stolen items taken from a series of burglaries stretching from Gig Harbor to Maltby after searching the Tacoma apartment of a suspect.
Guns, guitars, jewelry and drugs were recovered after Bellevue police arrested three suspects in Tacoma in connection of a series of burglaries that stretched from Gig Harbor to Kirkland, according to the Bellevue Police Department.
A large amount of stolen property was found in the Commencement Terrace Apartments unit of Andy Max Ellis, 28, in Tacoma. He allegedly had become increasingly brazen with his burglaries and bragged about doing them at night and watching residents sleep, the police department reported in a press release.
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Police arrested Ellis Thursday, along with two others, Paul M. Valencia, 31, and a 30 year-old male yet to be charged, last Thursday morning during a traffic stop in Tacoma, according to the Bellevue Police Department. They are all from Tacoma.
A total of seven guns were recovered from Ellis' apartment, as well as multiple guitars, musical instruments, jewelry, 59 grams of methamphetamine, and 4.5 pounds of marijuana. Detectives are still sifting through the recovered items and identifying owners, according to the Bellevue Police Department.
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Police say he confessed to more than 100 burglaries in the region, including at least two last summer at the A.G. Bell Elementary School construction site in the Juanita area of Kirkland. Kirkland Police Department spokesman Lt. Mike Murray said burglaries there resulted in the loss of up to $40,000 worth of property. Kirkland , with multiple power tools and other equipment stolen.
King County Superior Court charging documents also show that at least 16 homes in the Maltby/Paradise Lake area near Woodinville were hit -- from one a hammerless snub nose .38 caliber pistol was stolen.
Bellevue police detectives obtained warrants for Ellis' arrest and to search his apartment after a recent burglary in Gig Harbor where a large amount of jewelry and a gun were taken.
Tacoma Police, Gig Harbor Police and Pierce County Sheriff’s Office assisted Bellevue in the investigation and in serving the search and arrest warrants. Burglary tools and two ounces of methamphetamine were taken into evidence during the traffic stop.
Prior to being booked into King County Jail, Ellis showed detectives homes in Bellevue that he burglarized, the police department reported. Valencia confessed to being the driver in burglaries in Bellevue along West Lake Sammamish Boulevard, Newcastle and Issaquah.
More locations are still being identified. Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Bellevue and Pierce County will all clear several cases as a result of these arrests, according to the Bellevue Police Department.
According to the police department, Ellis cooperated with investigators in interviews and confessed to more than 100 burglaries in the region within the last eight months and at least four in Bellevue.
King County Prosecutors filed charges against Ellis for eight counts of Residential Burglary and two counts of Theft of a Firearm.
Charges filed against Valencia were two counts of residential Burglary and one count of Theft of a Firearm. Additional charges are pending on all suspects.
Bellevue Chief Linda Pillo said, “This is an excellent example of regional law enforcement working together to solve crime.”