Federal Way police are looking for three or four suspects in a series of thefts throughout King County that happened between Nov. 26 and 30.

The suspects steal wallets from elderly women as they shop, and then go to another store to purchase Visa gift cards, according to police.

In many cases, officers say they also get a greeting card and tell the cashier the purchases are for a family member.

This has happened in Federal Way, Kent, Mercer Island, Bellevue, Seattle and unincorporated King County, police say.

The suspects are described as nicely dressed adult black males, often wearing …

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Pierce County prosecutors today charged a 38-year-old man with second-degree murder for allegedly shooting a relative to death during an argument at a Tacoma storage facility Tuesday.

Agyei J. McDaniel pleaded not guilty in Pierce County Superior Court this afternoon and was ordered jailed in lieu of $1.5 million bail. He’s accused of killing Patrick Nicholas about 4:15 p.m. at the Public Storage facility in the 1200 block of South Sprague Avenue.

According to charging documents, the two men, who are related through marriage, were arguing at the storage facility where they both rent units when McDaniel opened fire on …

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Fife police searching for a fugitive at an apartment complex Wednesday found what appeared to be a drug house instead, the department reported today.

Officers were on patrol in the 2400 block of 62nd Avenue East when they discovered a car registered to a man who is being sought on a King County warrant charging him with residential burglary, police said.

Officers went to a nearby apartment to see if the man was there. A woman who opened the door said the man was not but allowed the officers inside to take a look, police said.

Officers found what appeared …

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UPDATE as of 1:20 p.m.: An argument over rent between a landlord and a tenant ended this morning with the tenant being shot, Milton police said.

The wounded man, a Tacoma resident believed in his 50s, was wounded once and spoke with officers before being taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Police Chief Bill Rhoads said.

The landlord, a Milton resident believed in his 50s, surrendered to officers and was being interviewed about the shooting, Rhoads said.

The shooting happened about 10:20 a.m. at a building in the 1300 block of 23rd Street.

The two men met at …

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A man is in jail after being accused of prank calling 911 several times Monday from a Fife hotel room he didn’t pay for.

Curtis Joe Tyquiengco, 41, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of second-degree burglary and telephone harassment.

According to court documents:

Tyquiengco called emergency dispatchers three or four times from a room at the Travelodge in Fife. He claimed to be from a California radio station, and rapped into the phone.

Hotel officials told police no one was renting the room at the time.

Officers heard someone singing in the room when they arrived, and Tyquiengco opened …

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Tacoma police are asking for the public’s help to find one of two 16-year-old boys charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a Tacoma man earlier this month.

A felony warrant was issued for James “JJ” Stimson Jr. last week.He is 5 feet, 6 inches, 140 pounds, and is known to frequent the Salishan area of Tacoma, according to police.

Officers say he should be considered armed and dangerous.David Watson, 45, died Nov. 18 after being shot once in the torso.

He reportedly encountered the suspects while looking for his lost dog in the middle of the night.Stimson …

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The Pierce County Council has approved spending $2 million to open a Sheriff’s Department precinct in the Parkland-Spanaway area aimed at reducing crime.

The council voted Tuesday night to pay for land, two buildings and renovations where about 35 deputies will be based.

The facility near Pacific Avenue South and 141st Street Court South is at the epicenter of the highest crime area in unincorporated Pierce County, said Sheriff’s Department Chief Rob Masko.

“We will have a much faster response to our citizens who are living and working in the Parkland-Spanaway area,” Masko said. “We want to be more effective in fighting crime in that particular area.”

Burglaries, auto thefts and assaults are the most common crimes in the area, he said. The precinct is projected to open by the end of 2013, serving a population of about 80,000.

It will draw some deputies from the department’s only other precinct located on South Hill. A small detachment at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway also will move to the new precinct, Masko said.

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Crews put out a blaze in a strip mall at South 38th Street and South Fife Street tonight that appeared to be started by a homeless encampment out back, according to Tacoma Fire.

Police shut down South 38th Street in front of the building, but fire officials expect it to reopen shortly. They’ve been on the scene since about 8:30 p.m.

No one was injured in the blaze.

People in the camp behind the building lit a fire for warmth, which appears to have spread to a vacant store in the building, according to Tacoma Fire.

Most of the damage …

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