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Mill Creek detective sergeant outlines caseload, retail‑theft, shooting and storage‑unit investigations
Summary
Detective Sergeant Rod Fleming briefed the council on the investigations unit’s staffing and caseload and summarized recent work on organized retail theft, a $100,000 theft at a utility property, a January shooting, storage‑unit burglaries and a multi‑jurisdiction special‑assault investigation.
Detective Sergeant Rod Fleming told the council that Mill Creek’s investigations unit has expanded and is handling a broad caseload that includes violent and property crimes, organized retail theft and multi‑jurisdictional investigations.
Fleming said the primary investigations unit comprises himself, Detective Chris White and Detective Jake McClain, with support from school resource officers and ancillary staff. He said total assigned cases rose between the two recent reporting periods he reviewed; roughly half the assigned cases were felonies.
On retail theft, Fleming credited an effective partnership with loss‑prevention staff at a large retailer. He said Detective White identified suspects in dozens of cases; in 2024 the detective generated about 40 cases, achieved identification and arrest in 32, and recovered about $22,000 of roughly $25,000 in stolen merchandise tied to those cases. Fleming reported similar results for 2025 to date: 37 cases with 32 identifications and arrests and about $15,000 recovered of $22,000 in reported loss.
Fleming reviewed a utility‑yard burglary in October 2024 involving more than $100,000 in thefts, in which detectives used video and license‑plate data to identify and arrest a suspect on burglary and theft charges. He also summarized a January 2025 shooting near the Gateway Center in which no injuries were reported; video and license‑plate reader data helped identify a suspect who was arrested on firearm and property‑damage charges. Shell‑casing analysis later connected casings in that case to a 2024 Everett shooting.
Storage‑unit burglaries were another focus: Fleming said detectives used online marketplace listings to trace stolen collectibles, execute warrants and recover about 90% of items in a case that spanned multiple sellers and locations.
He also described a recent special‑assault investigation that began with a dating‑app contact and produced evidence and warrants that linked the suspect to additional victims in other jurisdictions; that case was referred to the Snohomish County prosecutor.
Ending: Fleming said the unit balances assigned felony work with support for patrol and credited partnerships with local retailers and multi‑agency teams; council members asked questions about technology and interagency cooperation.
