On February 14th, at approximately 3:30 pm, a woman was walking in the area of 6th Avenue South and South King Street when she was approached from behind by an unknown Asian or Hispanic male. The suspect grabbed her purse and ran off westbound. The victim gave chase, running and screaming at the suspect. The suspect got into a waiting car, described by witnesses as a black Buick with tinted windows. The female victim grabbed onto the window of the car and was dragged for several feet as the car was leaving. She eventually struck a Dumpster and was separated from the fleeing car. A witness observed the incident and was able to write down the car description and a license plate. The victim was treated at the scene by the Seattle Fire Department and transported to the hospital for a large bump to her forehead and bleeding to her hands and arms. The witness stated that there appeared to be at least two more males beside the suspect inside the fleeing car. Detectives checked the license plate, but it did not appear to be the correct license plate or vehicle.
On February 27th, the victim contacted detectives and informed them that her purse had been recovered by an apartment manager near the apartment complex’s garbage dumpsters. Detectives responded to that location to interview the manager and noticed a vehicle similar to the one described in the robbery parked next to the dumpsters. This was a dark blue Buick with tinted windows and the license plate was very similar, only a few numbers off what was reported by the witness. Further investigation revealed that the registered owner matched the physical description of the suspect(s). The car was impounded to the processing room and a search warrant was obtained.
On March 7th, the registered owner of the car responded to the Robbery Office to speak with detectives about his car. After being interviewed by detectives, the owner admitted that he allows his cousin and several of his friends to use his car. The owner stated that he wasn’t present during the robbery, but he knew about it because his cousin and friends had told him about it. Detectives contacted the suspect (cousin) by telephone and arranged to meet the following day to resolve the matter.
On March 8th, at about 4:15 pm, detectives met with the suspect south of Seattle and took him into custody without incident. The suspect was transported to the Robbery Office where he gave a detailed interview to detectives, admitting his role in the robbery. After his interview with detectives, the 18 year old male was booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Robbery. Detectives will continue to follow up on this investigation.
