Redmond Police K-9 unit helps Bellevue Police nab suspect who escaped custody at Overlake Hospital

With the help of Redmond Police K-9, Vader, Bellevue Police recaptured a burglary suspect who escaped custody Oct. 18 while under medical observation at Overlake Hospital.

Bellevue Police Officers responded at 3:45 a.m. to calls about suspicious activities by a suspect reportedly wearing a heavy backpack, camouflage pants and a dark sweater on the 1100 block of 108th Avenue Northeast in Bellevue.

Police discovered a suspect matching that description while the man was exiting a residential building with several bags. The man fled after police yelled for him to stop for questioning, according to one witness, a night supervisor at a nearby luxury apartment complex.

The suspect ran to a building on the 900 block of 111th Avenue Northeast, where officers eventually wrestled him into custody.

“The man was kicking and screaming the whole way out,” said Bellevue Police spokeswoman Carla Iafrate.

The suspect wielded a retractable baton during the struggle, Iafrate said. No officers were injured during the confrontation.

Police transported the suspect to Overlake Hospital for medical observation after he began convulsing. The man escaped custody around 11:45 a.m., while under the watch of hospital security, according to Iafrate.

Vader and his police officer handler tracked the suspect to a dumpster on the 1200 block of 116th Avenue Northeast two hours later.

The man was still wearing a hospital gown and had medical paraphernalia attached to his body at the time, according to Iafrate. He again resisted arrest.

“He really didn’t want to go anywhere with the officers,” Iafrate said.

Police transported the suspect again to Overlake Hospital for evaluation and eventually booked him into King County Jail for burglary, obstruction and possession of burglary tools.