HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-19 - Theft - 400 Costco Drive aNNILA
iU , • ' Allan Ekberg, Mayor
Police Bruce C. Linton, Chief of Police
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Type of Incident:Theft
Location:400 Costco Dr
Date/Time Occurred: 10/19/2018 3:00PM Case #: 18-6081
Press Contact: Officer V. Masters #222 Phone #: 206-433-1834
Description of Incident
On Friday, October 19, 2018 at approximately 3:00PM, Major Crimes Unit (MCU) detectives and
Community Police Team (CPT) detectives culminated a month's long investigation into a series of
purse and wallet thefts at Costco with the arrest of Artem Bondahousky, 23 of Auburn, WA.
Beginning in February of 2018, a pattern of purse and wallet thefts emerged in which victim's purses
and wallets were stolen from their shopping cart or vehicles. The victims were often putting groceries
in the trunk of their vehicles or returning their shopping carts at Costco when the thefts occurred.
Detectives and officers began tracking the use of stolen credit cards and performed surveillance in
the Costco parking lot and at a Fred Meyers in Renton where the suspect routinely would use the
stolen credit cards shortly after the thefts. In all, approximately $17,200 was charged to stolen credit
cards. Through this in-depth investigation and with assistance from Fred Meyers loss prevention
team, detectives identified Bondahousky as the suspect in at least 11 of those purse and wallet
thefts. Bondahousky is believed to be responsible for several of the other thefts going back to
February of 2018 as well.
Bondahousky was booked on 11 felony charges ranging from Theft, Forgery and Identity Theft to
Possession of Narcotics.
A special thanks to Officer Jason Wollan #168 who put in countless hours piecing these cases
together and working with Fred Meyers loss prevention team to identify the suspect and make this
arrest possible.
As we move into the holiday shopping season, we encourage everyone to always be aware of their
surroundings and to not leave their purses, wallets or other valuables unattended even for a brief
period of time.