RENTON, Wash. — The Renton Police Department (RPD) was able to arrest a hit-and-run suspect with the help of drone technology and from local residents on Tuesday evening.
Police say that the 23-year-old suspect crashed a car on the 14100 block of Maple Valley Highway at 9:25 p.m.
After the crash, he is said to have abandoned the car and ran off with the stolen handgun.
After seeing a suspicious person running through their yards, Residents in the area called 911.
Police deployed a drone with heat detection to search for the suspect.
Residents went above and beyond helping officers by finding a heat source for the drone and finding a discarded handgun in their yard.
The suspect was found in hiding in bushes near where the crash happened.
The handgun that was found had been illegally modified into a machine gun.
Officers were able to find the suspect’s wallet and a handgun magazine at the car crash.
The suspect was arrested on charges of illegal gun possession, stolen gun possession, and a hit-and-run accident.
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