A Seattle police officer on routine patrol near Northwest 65th Street and Cleopatra Avenue Northwest spotted a Mercedes stopped at a red light with no front license plate on Tuesday afternoon, setting off a chain of events that ended with two arrests, a hidden handgun with no serial number, and a warrant tied to sexual assault. The rear plate on the car, officers later determined, did not belong to the vehicle at all.
The Mercedes accelerated away and increased its distance from the pursuing patrol car after the officer activated emergency lights and a siren, according to KOMO News. Once the car exceeded the posted speed limit by more than 20 mph in a residential neighborhood near a school zone, the officer deactivated the emergency equipment and lost sight of the vehicle, police said. That decision reflects department guidance that still prioritizes bystander safety over continuing a chase, even under Washington's broadened pursuit law.
Officers later found the stolen Mercedes left running in a driveway on the 5500 block of 7th Avenue Northwest. A patrol officer then spotted two people walking west together toward 8th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street, and additional officers moved in and detained both of them.
Ghost Gun and a String of Warrants
The car had been occupied by a 35-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, and investigators said officers found a handgun with no serial number in the woman's possession. She told officers the man had given her the gun to hold, according to investigators. Under Washington's RCW 9.41.326, knowingly possessing an untraceable firearm without a federal serial number is unlawful, a statute enacted in 2023 to target so-called ghost guns.
The man was wanted on warrants totaling $15,000 for possession of a stolen vehicle and eluding, and police said he was also wanted on separate warrants related to sexual assault and felony harassment. He is expected to face additional charges tied to those same allegations, police said, and is expected to be booked for investigation of eluding and unlawful possession of a firearm. Fleeing a pursuing officer while driving recklessly after being signaled to stop is a Class C felony under RCW 46.61.024, punishable by up to five years in prison, regardless of whether the officer had already called off the chase.
Medical Holds Delay Booking for Both Suspects
Seattle Fire Department medics evaluated the man at the scene, and he was later transported to a hospital for medical screening after telling police he had ingested narcotics. He is expected to be transported to King County Jail once he is medically cleared. King County Jail Health Services requires pre-booking screening and hospital clearance at facilities like Harborview Medical Center for arrestees who report recent drug ingestion or physical injury, a policy meant to protect both arrestees and the jail from liability.
The woman's path through the system took a different turn. King County Jail officials declined to book her after she reported that the man had assaulted her, and officers instead transported her to Harborview Medical Center for evaluation. Police said she was later identified and released rather than booked on the outstanding warrant and firearm charge she otherwise would have faced.
What Else Was Inside the Car
Beyond the unserialized handgun, the stolen Mercedes contained narcotics, a police-style taser, credit cards bearing different names, and miscellaneous property, according to the KOMO report. The vehicle had turned south on 4th Avenue Northwest during the brief pursuit before the officer broke off and it was later found abandoned nearby.
Broader Pursuit and Auto Theft Trends
The stop was made possible by Washington's Initiative 2113, which loosened the state's pursuit standard in June 2024 to let officers initiate chases based on reasonable suspicion of any law violation, a shift from the narrower 2021 rules requiring probable cause of a violent or sex offense, according to Ballotpedia. Even with that broader authority, Seattle police still called off the pursuit once it endangered a residential area near a school.
The Ballard case adds to a string of recent stolen-vehicle pursuits across the region, including a SeaTac stolen Mercedes chase last month. Statewide, car thefts have actually been falling, with the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force reporting in 2025 that thefts hit their lowest level in 15 years, down more than 30% from a 2022 peak, per KING 5 News. Seattle's own year-end data, released by the Seattle Police Department in February, showed overall reported crime citywide fell 18% in 2025, though property crimes like car prowls remained a persistent problem.
