By Bryan Trude, Josh Stilts
Reporter Newspapers
Bellevue police say a “significant” amount of heroin and guns is off the streets and out of the hands of felons after members of the department raided two homes in King County on Thursday.
When police arrived at the two locations they found guns, five pounds of drugs, mostly heroin and a small amount of cocaine, vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition worth more than $400,000 along with roughly $9,000 in cash.
“This is largest volume of guns and drugs we’ve recovered,” one of the task force members told the Bellevue Reporter.
Bellevue Police Lt. Marcia Harnden said the significance of seizing so many weapons and the approximately five pounds of heroin is “incredible” and commended the joint efforts of the Bellevue Police Department, Bellevue SWAT and Special Enforecement Team, along with detectives from the Eastside Narcotics Task Force (ENTF).
David Lindamood, 39, of Seattle, was arrested without shots being fired, at a residence in the 600 block of North 45th Street in the Freemont neighborhood.
“We certainly had the element of surprise,” Harnden said.
Lindamood allegedly had enough weaponry to arm a small militia. In total, police recovered 24 firearms including 13 handguns, three shotguns, five high-powered hunting rifles, and three assault rifles. Dozens of ammunition magazines and “several thousand rounds of ammunition” were also taken from the two properties.
Described as a “medium-sized” dealer providing product to low-level distributors on the Eastside, Lindamood was formally charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Additional charges are expected to follow as the investigation continues Harnden said.
The seizures were the result of a four-month investigation led by the ENTF, which began after a patrol officer with the Bellevue Police Department started talking to a confidential informant at the site of a recent heroin overdose.
The CI’s information led police to start investigating Lindamood as a potential supplier for dealers in the area.
“Heroin continues to be the biggest problem on the Eastside,” Harnden said. “It’s a regular thing to go out with the fire department on a heroin overdose.”
She said the seizure of the drugs and guns will help curb at least some of the criminal activity in the area, but the work is far from over.
Additional locations are currently being investigated in connection with Lindamood’s alleged drug dealing, Harnden said.
“Investigations such as this impact our communities in a positive way,” Bellevue Deputy Chief of Police Jim Jollife said. “The efforts of these detectives resulted in the arrest of a prolific drug dealer and the removal of firearms and heroin from the hands of suspected criminals.”
Bryan Trude:425-391-0363 ext. 5054; btrude@issaquahreporter.com
Josh Stilts:425-391-0363 ext. 5052; jstilts@bellevuereporter.com; On Twitter: @JoshStilts
