On Tuesday, September 23rd, at approximately 11 AM, a taxi cab driver for Yellow Cab was dispatched to the 3800 block of Rainier Avenue South to pick up a fare, suspect Terrail K. Elliott, aged 19, and a 15-year-old accomplice. During the ride, Elliott and his associate informed the driver that he was being robbed. The 15-year-old produced a pistol while Elliott informed the victim the he too was armed. The suspects demanded the victim’s wallet and instructed him to go to drive to an ATM. At the ATM, the suspects attempted to withdraw cash from the victim’s account, but were unsuccessful. The suspects then forced the victim to drive to a dead-end street and fled. Elliott later committed two additional armed robberies in Southeast Seattle, one on September 27th (4800 block Rainier Avenue South) and another as recent as October 7th (400 block 23rd Avenue South).
SPD Robbery detectives actively investigated these cases. While doing so, they coordinated with detectives from the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) Major Crimes Unit and determined that the suspects committed three armed robberies in the Sea-Tac neighborhood in early September 2008. KCSO detectives had located and arrested the 15-year-old suspect and was attempting to locate and arrest Elliott.
Robbery detectives located Elliott at his grandmothers residence in Southeast Seattle. On October 8th, SWAT Units set up surveillance and arrested him without incident when he exited the residence. Detective’s from SPD Robbery and KCSO Major Crimes interviewed Elliott at the SPD Robbery Office. He was then booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Robbery.