Alleged Costco Thieves Busted by Their Predictable Getaway Habits, Cops Say

Cops say it was the predictable getaway technique attempted by alleged Costco shoplifters in Washington state that led to their arrests.

Officers responded to a Seattle-area store, where loss prevention officers said they recognized one of several shoplifting suspects who'd previously stolen items before running out the fire exit, according to the Seattle Police Department.

Following the March 14 call, police said in a statement they arrived to the store to find a black Toyota backed up to a set of emergency doors. The officers pulled their own vehicle in front of the Toyota to prevent it from leaving and made contact with the 18-year-old female occupant. 

As police were interviewing the woman, officers standing at the emergency exit could hear someone attempting to open the doors, according to a police statement. 

Moments later, police say the doors opened.

"Two thieves burst through the emergency exit... carrying armloads of stolen laptops and vacuums," police wrote, "only to spot a group of officers standing between them and their getaway driver."

Police say the suspects, a 30-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, were carrying stolen computers and vacuum cleaners.

Officers detained the two suspects, who Costco staff said were part of the same group suspected of stealing a similar amount of merchandise from another Costco earlier that day, totaling some $2,200.

Cops say the male suspect was carrying a knife and was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery, while the two women were booked for investigation of theft.

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