Tumwater police made an attempt to bust up what they called a large retail theft ring on Thursday afternoon when two suspects started showing signs of overdosing. But police allege it could have been a ruse to get out of the arrest.
Lt. Jen Kolb with the Tumwater Police Department said police were dispatched around 1 p.m. Thursday to the Home Depot between Littlerock Road and Interstate 5. She said there were four people criminally trespassing, and two of them had already been cited in the past, believed to be part of a larger retail theft ring that has been active up and down the I-5 corridor.
The two who had been cited in the past were arrested, and officers found what they believed to be fentanyl on both of them.
On the way to the Nisqually Jail to book the two suspects, Kolb said the two suspects started showing the same signs of distress at the same time. Officers had not seen the two take any narcotics, nor did they say they took any, Kolb said.
Kolb said the transporting officer pulled over and requested medical assistance for the suspects. She said the suspects were let go, issued citations and transported to the hospital. Kolb said police are unsure exactly what the medical event was, and they will never know, either.
"Because they were released at the scene with citations and transferred to the hospital, we no longer have contact with them because they're no longer in custody," Kolb said. "HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws don't allow us to follow up or determine what the medical assessment was."
