Off-duty Kansas City police sergeant commended for arresting homicide suspect
An off-duty Kansas City police sergeant was commended by her department for capturing a woman wanted in connection with a string of crimes, including a homicide, that took place in Kansas City, Kansas last week.
Sgt. Bobbie King of KCPD was working as an off-duty officer at Alta Vista High School on Oct. 27 when she was informed of a suspicious person in the parking lot, the department said in a news release. She attempted to make contact with the woman, Alyssa Arreola, who was sitting inside a Honda CRV.
“I knew the person that owned that vehicle, and it wasn’t her,” King said in a video shared by the department Wednesday afternoon. “So I knew something was about to happen, but I didn’t know what.”
Arreola fled on foot toward a gas station at 1500 Paseo Blvd. with the police sergeant chasing after her. The officer went inside the gas station and found Arreola in its back office. Arreola was arrested following a struggle with King during which the officer was bitten on the hand and finger, King said. A Good Samaritan helped with the arrest, according to police.
“I’m thankful no one else was injured,” King said in the video. “I’m glad I encountered her, and no one else did.”
King, an 11-year member of KCPD, was presented with the Chief’s Coin by Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith for the arrest. It is a longstanding award offered to police officers for “exemplary efforts,” according to the department.
Arreola, 22, of Independence, is charged in Jackson County with assaulting a law enforcement officer and motor vehicle theft, both felonies, court records show. According to court documents, the arresting officer was treated at an area hospital for puncture wounds and nerve damage caused by bites.
Police recovered three firearms from a black bag allegedly carried by Arreola, court records show. Also outlined in court documents are allegations that Arreola stole and crashed a Ford truck a short distance from where she was arrested.
Police found the car wrecked at the intersection of Truman and Paseo. The owner of the truck told police a woman he later identified as Arreola had stolen it after he refused to let her use his phone, saying the keys were inside.
Arreola currently faces 12 felonies in Wyandotte County District Court for an alleged crime spree that authorities say began in the early hours of Oct. 27. She was charged last week with second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, three counts of burglary, three counts of stealing a firearm and two counts of theft.
Authorities allege Arreola stole a car from a store parking lot in the 10500 block of Parallel Parkway in Kansas City, Kansas around 7:30 a.m. The same vehicle was involved in a traffic crash a few miles away at 83rd Street and State Ave. Arreola allegedly drove away from the scene of the crash, police said, when she was involved in another collision in the 7800 block of Tauromee Ave.
From there, Arreola allegedly ditched the first car and fled on foot before invading the home of an elderly woman and stabbing her, police said. The woman was taken to an area hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
Roughly three hours later, as police were still investigating the stabbing, officers were called to a shooting a few blocks away in the area of 79th Street and Sandusky Ave.
There they found a man, who has since been identified as Isidoro Garcia-Jimenez, shot dead in the driveway of his home. Police believe she may have waited inside his residence and shot him once he came home before stealing his vehicle. It was recovered in Kansas City, Missouri shortly after Arreola’s arrest.
Police have said the crimes appeared to be random in nature based on early findings of the investigation.
