With officers on his heels, an armed robber ran down side streets and through yards in the Brighton neighborhood Thursday night before breathlessly surrendering to police.
The 21-year-old suspect and two other men had approached a 15-year-old boy in the 5100 block of S. Kenyon Street around 9 PM and demanded the gold chain the teen was wearing. One of the three suspects, who had a gun tucked in the waistband of his shorts, also told the victim he would shoot him if he didn’t hand over his chain. One of the three robbers snatched the necklace of the victim’s neck, ripping the victim’s shirt and leaving him with a six-inch bloody scratch on his chest. The three robbers then ran off down S. Kenyon Street.
After receiving a 911 call about the robbery, officers quickly arrived at the scene and began searching for the suspects. When police spotted the group near 52nd Avenue S. and S. Kenyon Street, the suspects split up and took off running through the neighborhood.
As the 21-year-old suspect emerged from the yard of a home along Rainier Avenue, he caught the eye of a patrol officer, who ordered the man to stop. He didn’t, so the officer took off on foot after the suspect.
The officer chased the suspect to the 4800 block of S. Holden Street, where another officer joined the pursuit.
The two officers cornered the suspect in a parking lot, where they ordered him onto the ground and handcuffed him. After seeing how winded the suspect was after the chase, they rolled the man onto his side so he could more easily catch his breath.
As officers turned the man over, they noticed a handgun tucked into his pants.
After checking the man’s ID, officers learned he had several warrants out of Mountlake Terrace, and discovered the loaded handgun he was carrying was reported stolen in Tacoma.
Patrol officers turned the suspect over to robbery detectives, who interviewed the man and booked him into the King County Jail for robbery and his warrants. Police are still searching for the two other suspects in the case.