EVERETT — Police say they uncovered a chopshop Wednesday morning at an Everett home that has been the site of two separate homicide investigations in recent years.
A team of detectives found stripped parts from at least 10 vehicles in the back yard, Snohomish County Auto Theft Task Force detective Terry Haldeman said.
A 49-year-old man living at the home was being investigated for operating an illegal wrecking yard and possession of a stolen tow truck. A woman was arrested on a warrant and for investigation of drug possession.
The law enforcement team that converged on the home included the auto theft task force, Everett police and Washington State Patrol. Police served a search warrant on the property in the 2400 block of 75th Street SE around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Detectives were trying to determine if other vehicles had been stolen. Besides the car parts, detectives found stolen street signs and some traffic cones from the City of Bothell.
“It’s a problem house for the Everett Police Department,” Haldeman said. “They contacted the wrecking yard inspector for the State Patrol and he wrote the warrant and they called us for help.”
In May 2011, a robbery turned deadly at the home. Two men were attempting to rob a third man of his wallet. The target of the robbery told police he’d been hit in the head with a flashlight and began to lose consciousness when he fatally shot one of the attackers.
Another man who lives at the house pleaded guilty to robbery and unlawful gun possession. He was sentenced to a year and five months in prison in 2012. The man being attacked was not charged. Police said he was acting in self defense.
In 2008, a 38-year-old man was shot and killed at the home. In that case, investigators believe three men, including the man who lives there, were arguing about drugs and a car. The argument spilled outside, where one of the men was fatally shot.
The shooter pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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