Accused shoplifter injured after being catapulted by car in Federal Way

A man was “catapulted” across the intersection of 11th Place South and South 320th Street in Federal Way after he allegedly stole jeans from Old Navy, but was ultimately in stable condition.

At about 7:22 p.m. Sept. 25, Old Navy’s loss prevention officer notified a male had just allegedly stolen $550 of jeans, one of which contained a 3SI tracking device, according to a police report obtained through a public records request. After the officer ultimately located the alleged shoplifter, he ran away and was hit by a car, and then catapulted to the other side of the intersection. According to a spokesperson from Harborview Medical Center on Oct. 16, the man was in satisfactory condition.

According to the report, the loss prevention officer told the police officer that she had witnessed on video a male walking into Old Navy through the front entrance, grabbing one armful of jeans, and then walking out the front entrance without paying. The loss prevention officer then provided the police officer with a photo of the male who had allegedly stolen the jeans and the associated tracking number.

At about 7:55 p.m., the officer began to search the area where the 3SI tracking device told him the jeans were. The device showed them on the 1100 block of South 320th Street and moving north. The report said the officer then conducted an area check and located a male who looked like the one in the photo provided to him and matched the physical description.

The officer then saw the male walking north on 11th Place South, crossing over South 320th Street, and walking into the Uptown Square Apartment complex. The officer then approached the male and saw that the 3SI tracking was showing it was within a few feet of the male. The report said that before the responding officer could completely get out and make any verbal contact with the man, the man dropped a black backpack that was completely full, dropped another bag, and began running.

The report said the officer believed the bags were full of merchandise, so he chose not to chase the man. The officer then told dispatch that the man was running, and in less than a minute, he got a report stating that there was an injury collision involving a man and a vehicle at the intersection of 11th Place South and South 320th Street.

The officer identified the man involved in the collision as the same man he had seen drop the bags. The man was lying in the roadway, and adjacent was a vehicle with a cracked windshield and major damage to the hood.

The officer on the scene told the man who was hit that although he was injured, he was not free to go because he was being investigated for shoplifting. The man was then transported by Medic One to Valley Medical Center with unknown injuries but in stable condition.

The driver who hit the man said as she was approaching the intersection, someone jumped on her car, although she was not sure what happened. The report said she was visibly distraught.

The report said the officer then checked the bags after deeming them abandoned. He found 10 pairs of light blue Old Navy jeans, one of which contained the 3SI tracker. Each pair of jeans was priced at $55 each, totaling $550 worth of merchandise.

The report stated the man’s injuries were unofficially a broken left thigh, a broken left upper arm, a broken left shoulder, fractures in left pelvis, and pressure on the lung. The man was ultimately not arrested due to his extensive injuries, and he was transported to Harborview Medical Center for surgery.

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