Shoreline Crash Suspect Ditches Gun in Bushes, K-9 Marley Sniffs It Out

A Dodge Ram driver crashed off NW 175th Street in Shoreline on August 5, plowing into some trees, and then allegedly tried to hide a handgun he wasn't legally allowed to have. He reached into his waistband as deputies arrived, according to initial reports, before the weapon turned up hidden among nearby plants — sniffed out by a Sound Transit bomb-detection K-9 named Marley.

Shoreline Police Department deputies responded to what was initially called in as an accident with injuries on NW 175th Street, according to the King County Sheriff's Office. The driver, who deputies say is a convicted felon barred from possessing firearms, allegedly tried to hide a gun during the encounter, according to initial reports cited by the sheriff's office. He was arrested at the scene following the crash.

That's when K-9 Marley got to work. Marley, who normally serves as a Sound Transit bomb detection K-9, located the discarded handgun among the plants near the crash site, according to the King County Sheriff's Office. As reported by KIRO 7, the recovery marked Marley's 10th successful evidence find as an explosive detection dog.

A Transit Dog Doing Double Duty

Marley works alongside handler Deputy Christine Bartlett, and the pair are primarily assigned to Sound Transit routes, conducting high-visibility patrols at stations and on trains, per KIRO 7's report. That assignment didn't stop them from being called in to assist Shoreline patrol deputies during the roadside emergency, since transit K-9 teams remain available for regional firearm searches when needed.

Bartlett told the station that deploying transit-based K-9 units allows officers to inspect suspicious items within minutes, whereas calling out a full bomb squad typically takes several hours — a detail that underscores why a dog trained for explosives ended up tracking down a firearm in the bushes. After the successful search, Bartlett rewarded Marley with a steak dinner at home, the outlet reported.

The arrangement isn't unusual in King County. The Shoreline Police Department itself operates as a contract partnership with the King County Sheriff's Office, according to the City of Shoreline's government portal, meaning the deputies who responded to the crash follow KCSO operational policies. Sound Transit Police operates under a similar structure, staffed through a contract with the sheriff's Special Operations Division rather than as its own municipal agency, per a King County official profile.

Felony Charges Follow the Crash

Detectives filed charges against the driver for unlawful possession of a firearm and felony DUI following the incident. Under Washington law, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, while Second Degree possession is a Class C felony carrying up to 5 years and a $10,000 fine, according to the Seattle criminal defense firm Black & Askerov. Which degree applies typically hinges on the nature of the driver's prior convictions, a detail not yet made public.

The felony DUI charge also lands amid a recent change to state law. Washington expanded the lookback period for felony DUI charges from 10 years to 15 years starting January 1, making a fourth DUI offense within that window a Class B felony, according to DUI Heroes. It remains unclear how many prior DUI convictions factor into the charge against this driver.

A Corridor With a History of Crashes

NW 175th Street has drawn scrutiny before. Earlier this year, a 70-year-old man riding a mobility scooter was fatally struck by an SUV along the eastbound lanes of the same street, KING 5 reported. The corridor is a major east-west arterial through Shoreline, and the August 5 crash adds another entry to its record of serious collisions.

Shoreline's police department, meanwhile, has been touting gains in emergency response performance. The department recorded an average 911 response time of 4.24 minutes for high-priority calls in 2025, an improvement from 5.31 minutes the year before, according to My Edmonds News — progress officials attribute to efficiencies gained despite ongoing staffing vacancies.