Seven suspects are still at large after they kidnapped a security guard, then burglarized a marijuana production facility earlier this month, according to Tumwater police.
The suspects stole tens of thousands of dollars of pot products, Lt. Jen Kolb said Tuesday.
About 3:20 a.m. April 5, police were dispatched to the 1000 block of 85th Avenue Southeast, near the Olympia Regional Airport. When police arrived, they found an unoccupied vehicle still running and a broken window, she said.
Suspecting a break in, police set up a perimeter and called on an Olympia K9 to search the area. No suspects were found. Later, a representative of the pot business showed up and asked, "Where's the security guard?"
That prompted police to review video footage that showed that the 23-year-old security guard had been abducted, Kolb said.
Minutes later, though, the guard showed up on foot and explained what had happened to him.
Between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., the guard was on duty, sitting in his vehicle, Kolb said. He saw two vehicles in the area, which he thought was strange for a dead-end street. Then both vehicles entered the business' property, one of them blocking the security guard's car.
Seven men then emerged from those cars, including some armed with guns, Kolb said.
Three of them got into the security guard's car and drove south on Old Highway 99 with him for about two miles. The guard was then pulled out of the car and ordered to the ground. The suspects got spooked by a northbound vehicle and drove away, leaving the guard at the scene, Kolb said.
Meanwhile, the four remaining suspects burglarized the pot production facility.
The guard was not physically harmed, she said, but he was shaken by the experience.
Although the suspects are still at large, three of four vehicles involved have been recovered, including the guard's car. Police think the fourth vehicle was used by a possible lookout during the burglary, Kolb said.
Police have a good lead because one suspect did not wear a mask, she said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Tumwater police at 360-754-4200 or the non-emergency dispatch line at 360-704-2740.
