Seattle police arrested a cellphone thief and are searching for a second suspect after receiving reports Saturday evening that a fight had spilled off a Metro bus and into the parking lot of a South Seattle gas station.
A woman called police around 4 pm Saturday—shortly after officers received reports of the bus brawl—and said a man was following down the street after accusing her of stealing his cellphone.
Officers arrived at a gas station in the 6600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., where they found the 20-year-old woman, along with a bloodied 21-year-old man.
The woman told officers she and her boyfriend had been sitting near the 21-year-old man on the bus, when the 21-year-old man woke up from a brief slumber and accused the couple of taking his cellphone. The woman said the man then attacked her and her boyfriend and followed them when they fled the bus.
However, the bloodied man’s version of events was quite different.
The man told police he was sitting in his seat on the bus, eyes closed, listening to music on his cell phone, when the music suddenly stopped. The 21-year-old looked up and saw the woman and a man holding his phone. When the 21-year-old asked the couple to return his phone, the pair of suspects punched and kicked him in the head.
The two suspects then fled the bus, but the victim chased after them. As the victim followed the pair of suspects to the gas station, the male suspect ran off as his female companion called 911 and provided police with her version of events.
When questioned by police at the scene, the woman adamantly denied stealing the victim’s cellphone—that is until officers pointed out a suspicious cellphone-shaped bulge in the woman’s pocket. Finally, the woman admitted that, yes, she had taken the victim’s phone. Officers searched the woman and found the victim’s phone, along with three grams of crack cocaine.
Medics transported the 21-year-old victim to Harborview for bumps, bruises, cuts and scrapes sustained in the incident.
Police booked the woman into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery and drug possession. Robbery detectives are currently searching for her male companion.