(Image: CHS)
The East Precinct reports it has made more arrests, drug and firearm seizures, and trespasses in its “retail theft operation” activities at Capitol Hill’s busiest grocery stores.
The Seattle Police Department and its General Investigations Unit say recent operations at the Harvard Market QFC last week and the 15th and John Safeway in February targeted rampant shoplifting and organized retail theft, resulting in multiple arrests and a small haul of recovered weapons and narcotics.
The most dramatic moment of the recent operations occurred in February at Safeway, where plainclothes officers reported they were monitoring a couple at the self-checkout. While the pair paid for a few items, they allegedly bagged nearly $90 in unpaid merchandise. When the arrest team moved in, they discovered the male suspect was wanted on a felony warrant out of Snohomish County for narcotics distribution. Police say a search of his cross-body bag uncovered 4.6 grams of fentanyl and a stolen Polymer80 Glock handgun, which had been previously reported stolen in a separate Seattle incident.
Last week’s operation at the 1401 Broadway QFC took a different turn, focusing on the store’s perimeter where narcotics activity often clusters. From elevated vantage points, officers watched several groups smoking suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine on the sidewalk near the store’s steps, just feet from the main entrance. SPD says their interventions led to the recovery of several grams of illicit substances and the arrest of a woman found to have a felony warrant for residential burglary and motor vehicle theft.
Across both locations, the alleged thievery varied from the mundane to the brazen. One man was caught attempting to leave with two racks of ribs — one in his cart and another stuffed down his pants — while others were apprehended for walking out with multipacks of paper towels or concealing high-value steaks in their jackets. In total, approximately $500 in merchandise was recovered and returned to the stores.
Of the 15 people caught in the operations, SPD says 13 were booked into King County Jail on charges ranging from theft and narcotics use to possession of a stolen firearm. Two individuals were formally trespassed from the Safeway property following their arrests. One suspect was medically declined at the jail, and another was released from the scene with charges referred to prosecutors.
East Precinct operations have continued to be run at the busy stores. CHS reported here in September on a similar operation at the Broadway and Pike QFC that involved three arrests and a combined $281.91 in merchandise.
Similar operations have focused on downtown stores or big brand merchandise. The operations typically entail police working with loss prevention security staff at the stores to identify people stealing merchandise and then making arrests.
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month — or choose your level of support 
