Seattle police need your help finding two men responsible for a series of increasingly violent hold-ups at Vietnamese-owned businesses in south Seattle.
Robbery detectives believe the suspects’ crime spree began on November 16th at Venus Seafood Restaurant on Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. and S. Myrtle Street. Just before 9:30 pm, one of the suspects walked into the restaurant, pulled a gun on the owner and demanded cash. The suspect then fled the scene in a silver two-door Honda Civic driven by a second man. The suspects’ Civic had a sun roof, tinted side rear windows and possibly had a tinted rear window, and no front license plate.
Two days later, on November 18, the suspects struck again, robbing the Spring Roll House Deli on 12th Ave. and S. Main Street. Again, the two suspects pulled guns on six women inside the business, stole cash and jewelry from the victims, and then forced them into a bathroom and told them not to call police.
The suspects hit another business on Martin Luther King Jr Way. S. and S. Myrtle again on November 22nd, forcing a group of women at a hair salon into a bathroom, where they zip-tied their hands and robbed them at gunpoint for cash and jewelry.
Finally, shortly after 6 pm on November 24, the suspects held up employees at a nail salon on Rainier Avenue S. and S. Findlay, again forcing employees into a back room at gunpoint, where they tied them up before robbing them.
Detectives believe the suspects—both Vietnamese men in the 30s, both approximately 5’7-5’8 and 150-16o pounds—are targeting Vietnamese-owned businesses, and are looking for any information to help track these men down.
If you recognize either suspect or have seen their vehicle, please contact SPD’s Robbery Unit at (206) 684-5540.
