Police action in Ballinger and Lake Forest Park

Ballinger neighborhood residents were startled Wednesday night as sirens and police filled their neighborhood.

According to one resident, "We had Shoreline and Mountlake Terrace police in the Ballinger neighborhood last night, from about 6:15 to 7:45pm, speeding on local streets with lights on, searching for suspects with guns who had reportedly broken into a home nearby. 25th NE at 205th and 203rd were blocked off for quite a while as they narrowed the search." 

One resident had to convince an officer at blocked-off 25th NE that he needed to get home to check on his wife who might be out walking the dog. (She was already safely at home).

According to our friends at MLTNews.com, Mountlake Terrace Police were searching for armed robbers who had been in a home in the  4500 block of 241st Street Southwest in Mountlake Terrace. 

According to the MLTNews, these are the details as released Thursday by MLT Police:

Police responded to a report by a 31 year-old female resident that two men who had been interested in purchasing a car entered her home, brandished weapons and took her cash. She told 911 dispatchers that she was holding one of the two suspects at gunpoint. As officers were responding, the report changed to both suspects fleeing the area on foot.

Officers from multiple agencies (Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Woodway, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, King County and Bothell) responded to assist. As officers came into the area, they arrested one of the suspects walking near 33rd Avenue Northeast and Northeast 205th. A witness told officers that he saw the second suspect run from the area as police officers were arriving.

Officers set up a containment area and started a K-9 track. The second suspect was eventually located in the area of Northeast 204th and 33rd Avenue Northeast and taken into custody without further incident.

Further investigation by detectives determined that the female victim of the robbery was attempting to purchase illegal drugs from the two male subjects, not a car as she initially reported.

At this point, one suspect — a 28-year-old male from Auburn — has been booked into the Snohomish County Jail. Detectives are continuing the investigation and possibility of further charges.

The Mountlake Terrace Police Department would like to thank all the witnesses and other police agencies who responded to assist in the apprehension of the suspects.

Anyone with further information on this incident can contact the City of Mountlake Terrace Police Department at 425-670-8260 and ask to speak with a detective.