Kent Police have arrested a suspect believed to be involved in the Halloween night murder of Devon Topps, 18, that wound its way through Des Moines.
Topps was shot outside an east Kent home while leaving a private Halloween party on Oct. 31st of this year. He was a coveted football recruit for Eastern Washington University’s football program.
The arrest culminated an early evening cat-and-mouse surveillance effort by police. Working with information developed by Kent Police Detectives, undercover officers went to the Kings Arms Motel in Des Moines on a tip that evidence of the crime would be located there. Shortly thereafter detectives identified and followed two cars associated to the crime leaving the area. One of those cars was stopped a short time later without incident. When Detectives attempted to stop the second car, the driver sped into a nearby residential neighborhood before abandoning the vehicle.
Police surrounded the area and while searching for the two occupants, saw another car driving away quickly. When they tried to stop that car, officers saw a passenger jump out and run away. A Kent Police canine team was called in to assist. It was during that search that an alert Kent Detective driving through the area noticed a man crossing a parking lot a short distance away. That man, wearing only a t-shirt and jeans, was contacted and eventually identified as the suspect.
A 20-year old Auburn man was arrested and brought to the Kent City Jail. No stranger to local law enforcement, he has an extensive criminal history.
“Our Detectives have been working on this senseless murder without rest,” said Kent Police Chief Steve Strachan. “It’s good to finally have a suspect in jail and see this case moving forward toward prosecution.”
The suspect will remain in Kent until formal charges are filed by the King County Prosecutor later this week. At that time he will be transferred to King County Corrections.
Here’s a video report courtesy KING5:
