The plan was simple. All they had to do was steal armloads of computers and a couple vacuum cleaners from a Seattle Costco then run out the fire exit. And it would have worked too, if not for the swarm of police waiting right outside the door.

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A Costco store in SoDo called 911 to report suspected shoplifters Wednesday, March 14 at 5:30 p.m. Loss prevention officers told police they recognized the suspects from a previous shoplifting incident. The suspects ran out the fire exit last time.

When officers arrived on scene, they noticed a black Toyota backed up to those same fire doors. An 18-year-old woman was at the wheel. They blocked the car from leaving. Police figured the shoplifters were repeating their previous theft, so they waited outside the emergency exit.

“Let’s just wait for them to come out,” a police officer can be heard saying on a dash cam video of the incident. “He’s just going to run out with a laptop.”

At 6:04 p.m., a 30-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman kicked the doors open. They exited the building with stolen property in their hands only to find police mere feet away.

Police booked the 18-year-old woman and the 21-year-old woman for investigation of theft. They booked the 30-year-old man for investigation of robbery. Officers found a 7-inch knife on the male suspect.

After further investigation, it was discovered that the suspects allegedly stole from another Costco earlier that same day. The stolen property is valued at $2,200.