SEATTLE — A man who stole a car from a Seattle Children's parking garage while the owners' infant underwent brain surgery and eventually sold drugs out of it was sentenced Thursday.
Timothy Laucks, 42, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in September.
Police identified the vehicle several days after it was stolen, and eventually apprehended Laucks after observing him as he attempted to flee officers in a Queen Anne parking lot.
Inside the stolen vehicle, police recovered two loaded firearms (one stolen), methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana and $8,000.
Laucks claimed he purchased the car from someone else and didn't realize it had been stolen from the hospital until some medical paperwork was discovered. He told officers he had intended to return the vehicle and the paperwork, but "got busy making drops."
Laucks has been convicted of or faced an adverse finding for 11 felonies, 10 gross misdemeanors and eight misdemeanors, according to Washington State Patrol crime records. Charges include motor vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, assault, forgery and identity theft. None of his previous charges were in King County.
Since 2005, he has had 90 warrants in other counties, according to the King County prosecutor's office.
“That’s concerning because we don’t want someone who is a problem in other counties to come to Seattle and think that they can get away with it,” said Casey McNerthney from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
The Fager family drove five hours from Ford, Washington to have the surgery at Seattle Children's just before Halloween. While the surgery was underway on Oct. 28, the family's vehicle was stolen out of the hospital's parking garage.
“It’s very crappy that someone would go to a children’s hospital of all places and steal a car,” said Cali Fager, the boy's mother.
The family told KING 5 it was lucky their son was able to have the surgery at Seattle Children's.
“Not a lot of kids are able to qualify for this surgery,” Fager said. “They have to be pretty confident that it’s going to work and thank God for our neurology team and our surgeon. It’s the hardest thing I have ever gone through in my life."
