Bellevue police Tuesday arrested a 17-year-old Sammamish resident they suspect of trying to work an insurance scam aimed at junking his 2002 BMW M3 so he could upgrade to a new Bentley.
According to police spokesman Michael Chiu, the teenager reported his BMW stolen sometime Monday evening while working at his job at a restaurant in downtown Bellevue.
But early Tuesday morning, police in Snoqualmie found the car at an unspecified location and arrested four young men, both adults and juveniles, who were in the process of stripping the car, said Snoqualmie police Sgt. Robert Keeton.
Keeton said most, if not all, of the parts were recovered. The four were arrested for first-degree possession of stolen property.
Chiu said that after being arrested, however, they implicated the Sammamish resident, who they said wanted his BMW stolen and stripped so he could collect insurance money and buy a Bentley.
The Sammamish teenager was interviewed by Bellevue police and released to his parents, Chiu said. Information on the incident will be forwarded to the King County Prosecutor's Office for investigation of fraud.
A 2005 BMW M3 sells for a suggested price of about $47,000, according to an online search of new car prices.
A 2005 Bentley Continental GT coupe, with a 552-horsepower engine and a top speed of 190 mph, runs about $159,000.
A 2002 BMW M3 sells used for about $42,000.