Source: Press Release, Marysville Police Department
Marysville Police have made an arrest in a luring incident that was reported last week. A Marysville man was arrested Thursday morning after officers were able to identify and locate the vehicle used in the incident. The suspect was arrested without incident out of his Marysville residence.
On April 14th an adult male subject pulled up in a vehicle near where an eight year old boy was standing and engaged the boy in a conversation. At one point he offered the boy money and video games if he got into the vehicle. The boy, remembering what he had been taught in school ran away because he did not know the man. The boy reported the incident to his mother who notified police.
The mother advised police her son told her the man was driving a large white SUV. He was also able to provide a general description of the man. Detectives were able to complete a composite sketch of the suspect based on the description provided by the boy.
On Wednesday evening officers responded to a second reported similar incident; the mother of an 11 year old female reported that her daughter was a student crossing guard for Shoultes Elementary. While acting as a crossing guard in the morning a male subject in a white minivan repeatedly drove past her. The girl told her mother that each time he drove past he would smile and wave and made her feel uncomfortable. The girl also saw the same white van after school. The girl was also able to provide a description of the driver. Her description was similar to the one given by the boy in the previous incident.
On Thursday during the morning school commute, officers were present in the area of Shoultes Elementary looking out for the white van.
The mother of the young girl from the incident on Wednesday contacted an officer and advised him the van had twice driven by the area near the crossing guards. The mother was able to provide a partial license plate and advised the white van was an older model Toyota.
Officers were able to identify and locate the suspect vehicle based on the partial license plate given by the parent.
Officers drove to the address listed for the vehicle and made contact with a 31 year old male at the residence. He resembled the man described by the young boy from the incident the previous week. The suspect was arrested and booked at the Snohomish County Jail on unrelated, outstanding felony warrants.
Late this morning, a Marysville detective delivered Probable Cause papers to the Snohomish County Jail for the crime of Luring. The suspect will also be booked for the new offense.
“This is an excellent example of how when police, schools and the community work together we are able to arrest bad guys and get them off the streets,” stated Commander Robb Lamoureux.
The two children involved were not physically injured in any way. “Were just very proud of those two kids; they both did everything right by recognizing a bad situation and running away or telling an adult about what happened to them,” Lamoureux said.