Three men robbed a diamond courier and stole $500,000 dollars' worth of diamonds in the parking lot of a hotel near Sea-Tac Airport Monday night, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.
It happened at the Sleep Inn Hotel on International Boulevard.
Detectives say the courier, a man from California, had just parked his rental car at the hotel when a van drove up and three masked men jumped out.
One of the men pushed the courier to the ground while the other two took the bag of diamonds from the passenger seat, according to investigators.
Law enforcement from all different agencies worked together to find the robbers. State patrol troopers spotted the suspects and arrested three men at the Arco gas station in Chehalis, around 8 o'clock.
The men were booked into jail at the Regional Justice Center early Tuesday morning.
The suspects are scheduled to appear in court at the Regional Justice Center Wednesday afternoon.
Detectives are investigating if the diamond heist is connected to other recent jewelry thefts.
Another courier was robbed on a ramp to I-5 at South 188th in October. Two more couriers were robbed along 405 in Renton and Bellevue. Investigators expect to search the vehicles from the most recent robbery on Wednesday; that's when they'll know if all of the diamonds were recovered.
Cox Media Group
