Three juveniles led police on a pursuit in the South Precinct on July 27th before officers arrested them in connection with a series of robberies and a recent drive-by shooting.
Investigators believe that on July 26th, the trio of suspects committed three armed robberies in the Ballard/Fremont neighborhoods. In each incident, the suspects were similarly described and reportedly left in a white Ford sedan. In one of the robberies, a victim was assaulted. In each reported case, the suspects had fled prior to the police arriving. Despite an extensive search, police were unable to locate the suspects nor the white Ford near the scene.
Investigators learned that a white Ford sedan had been taken on July 25th in an armed carjacking in Renton. The suspect description and circumstances were very similar to the robberies in North Seattle. Detectives shared the vehicle and suspect description with patrol officers throughout the department.
On July 27th, at approximately 1:30 am, police responded to a reported drive-by shooting in the 9900 block 51st Avenue S. Officers arrived and located that one of the occupants of the home, a small child, had been injured from shrapnel that had entered the house. Seattle Fire responded and treated the injured child. Fortunately, the injuries were not life-threatening.
Thirty minutes later, police received another report of a drive-by shooting at an unoccupied house near 25th Avenue and East Pine. There were no injuries. The suspect vehicle was described as a white Ford sedan with several occupants.
Approximately an hour after that, South Precinct officers found the suspects’ white Ford and began to pursue it. The white Ford was involved in two minor collisions, with the final one disabling it on the northbound I-5 exit ramp to the West Seattle Bridge. Three suspects attempted to flee but were quickly apprehended by SPD officers and Washington State Patrol. One suspect threw a handgun off the freeway ramp, but officers were able to locate and recover it in the greenbelt below the freeway.
The three suspects, one 16 year-old male, a 14 year-old male and a 14 year-old female, were transported to police headquarters, where they were interviewed by detectives. Following the interview, the two males were booked into the Youth Services Center on a number of charges, while the female was released pending further investigation.
The remains an active and on-going investigation. The vehicle was impounded pending a search warrant. SPD detectives will be coordinating with other law enforcement agencies to see if these suspects are connected with any similar crimes in other jurisdictions.
