Seattle Police arrested five young suspects, all under the age of 16, after a high-speed chase involving a stolen vehicle, bringing an end to what authorities believe was a week-long crime spree.
On May 7, officers responded to reports of five masked teens abandoning a running car in the middle of the 8000 block of 16th Avenue Northwest, in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. Before police arrived, the suspects had stolen another car and sped off. Witnesses provided the police with license plate information, revealing that one of the vehicles was involved in an armed robbery earlier that day.
Based on witness descriptions and the pattern of the crimes, detectives suspected these juveniles were responsible for a crime spree that began at the end of April. The King County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit, known as Guardian One, tracked the stolen car from the air while Seattle Police’s SWAT team followed on the ground.
The chase ended at the intersection of Northwest 80th Street and 15th Avenue Northwest in North Seattle, where the suspects’ vehicle crashed into another car. Three of the suspects were caught immediately, one was captured after a brief foot chase, and the fifth was found by Guardian One hiding in a nearby yard.
These five juveniles are believed to be connected to a series of crimes, including more than a dozen robberies, assaults, car thefts, and hit-and-runs, that started on April 29. According to Seattle Police, on a single day, the group allegedly committed an armed robbery at a convenience store in the 1500 block of East Madison Street, attempted to run over a man with their vehicle at the Magnuson Park Boat Launch, and assaulted a woman in the 9200 block of Woodlawn Avenue North.
The suspects, aged 16, 15, 14, and two 12-year-olds, were taken to the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center and booked on multiple felony charges.
