On July 11th at approximately 9:10 p.m. officers responded to the area of 4th Avenue and Bell Street for a report of two suspects spray painting graffiti on buildings and then taking pictures of their ‘work’. Officers contacted an eyewitness, who provided the officers with a description of the suspects. While conducting an area check, officers spotted two suspects matching the description given to them by the witness in the alley north of the 200 block of Lenora Street. The suspects were detained while officers brought the witness to the scene who positively identified the suspects the officers had detained as the ones he saw spray painting graffiti a short time earlier.
Investigating officers recovered an abundance of evidence in possession of the suspects. All of the recovered items were booked into the Evidence Section for processing.
The two 17-year-old male suspects (both from Everett) were arrested but were subsequently declined by the Youth Service Center (juvenile detention). Officers released both juvenile suspects to their legal guardians.
On July 14th at approximately 4:30 a.m. an officer on patrol spotted a suspicious subject in a recessed doorway on the north side of the 75 block of Blanchard Street. As the officer moved in closer he saw the suspect place an unknown object in a shopping bag that was sitting at his feet. The suspect then picked up the bag and began to walk away. The officer stopped the suspect and heard the sound of a spray paint can inside the bag. The officer saw that the suspect’s hands were covered in paint and then observed a spray paint can inside the open bag the suspect was carrying. Additional officers arrived on scene to assist with the investigation.
Investigating officers discovered fresh spray paint graffiti in the recessed doorway where the suspect had been standing when he was initially spotted by the first officer. The color matched the color of paint in the suspect’s possession. The suspect was placed under arrest and a large amount of evidence was recovered by officers. All of the recovered items were booked into the Evidence Section for processing.
The 21-year-old male suspect from Seattle was booked into the King County Jail for Property Destruction.
It is possible that the above listed suspects are involved in other acts of vandalism.
Seattle Police West Precinct Detective Wes Friesen is handling the active and on-going investigation. Anyone with video, photographic, or other evidence that could contribute to this investigation is asked to contact Detective Friesen directly by e-mail at Wesley.Friesen@seattle.gov