information from Seattle Police Blotter

Officers arrested two suspects and recovered a stolen handgun Wednesday morning after responding to a commercial burglar alarm in Westwood Village shopping center.

At about 5:30 a.m., police responded to an alarm at a closed business in Westwood Village shopping center of West Seattle. The two suspects triggered the alarm when they entered the store through a hole in the wall with an adjoining business. Police later discovered the men had in fact cut through multiple walls to get from one business to the next. During the burglary, the suspects stole a handgun, along with other items.

When officers responded to the triggered security alarm, the two men attempted to flee through a rear alley but ran straight into police. The officers immediately took one suspect into custody, but the second suspect – believed to be in possession of the stolen handgun – fled from police into a nearby store. SWAT responded and eventually arrested the second suspect on the rooftop, and recovered the handgun and stolen merchandise nearby.

Both suspects are 34-year-old men, and both were booked into the King County Jail for theft and burglary.

A first appearance for the two men arrested in the case took place on Thursday. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office asked the first appearance judge to hold one of the men, Rafael Meyers, on $10,000 bail and the other, Jerry Plute, on $1,000 bail.

 Both were released by the judge on their personal recognizance.