Eleven juvenile suspects broke into the Brooks Biddle car dealership, located on Northeast Bothell Way, and stole more than 100 keys from the lot on Dec. 5.

The suspects triggered an alarm when they broke through a window at the dealership. They then rummaged through the offices in search of car keys. Police were contacted by Sonitrol, Brooks Biddle’s security company, and officers responded without lights or sirens. Doing so enabled them to catch 11 suspects fleeing from the lot, all of them juveniles. The other two were believed to have run off into the surrounding neighborhood. One more suspect was arrested a few days later and police are still seeking the last suspect.

“I was told that the youngest was 12 years old and I was told that two of the suspects were girls, which was kind of a shock to me,” said John Biddle, president of the Brooks Biddle dealership. “I didn’t realize that they were all under the age of 18.”

The incident started at around 1 a.m. on Friday. Responding officers approached the car dealership and set up a cordon of the area. As more officers were heading to the scene, ones already there were rounding up fleeing suspects.

“You always know that when you get a call at 1:00 in the morning that it’s not a good thing, I talk to most of my friends during regular business hours,” Biddle said.

Some suspects were caught fleeing from the car lot, while others were found hiding under vehicles or in neighboring condominiums and apartments. A Lynnwood K-9 unit was brought out to assist in the search for suspects, some found at the Cedar Crest Condos behind the Brooks Biddle car lot.

In total all 101 sets of car keys were recovered by police the night of the incident.

“With everything that’s been going on in the national media with the criticism of the law enforcement community, I think it’s terrific that police can respond so professionally, so efficiently, and do the job they are relied upon to do in such a professional fashion,” Biddle said.

Police from Edmonds and Seattle were brought in to identify the suspects and see if they were the same juveniles from recent car dealership breakins from those areas. It is believed that they are the same suspects from those incidents.

“The most profound feeling that comes out of it for me, is what a great job the Bothell Police did,” Biddle said. “Certainly having a break in at your business isn’t something that you sign up for, but having the outcome transpire with the police doing such a brilliant job, and apprehending all the young hooligans, hopefully sends a message to them that crime doesn’t pay.”

The Edmonds Police Department is looking into the incident as it comes a little over a week after a group of teens from Seattle were arrested in stolen cars taken from car lots in Edmonds and Lake City. During those incidents the Seattle Police Department and King County Sheriff’s Office made the arrests outside of Edmonds.

“We think it is the same group that hit two of our dealerships [in Edmonds],” said Edmonds Police Department Sgt. Mark Marsh.

Two dealerships, Gasoline Alley and Car Masters on Highway 99, were broken into in Edmonds.

“Both of those lots are independent lots,” Marsh said.