Seattle Police responded to a woman whose purse and cell phone were stolen after a man attempted to steal her car near the intersection of 5th Avenue and Terrace Street in Downtown Seattle Monday afternoon.
At approximately 02:00 p.m., officers contacted the 68-year-old female victim who reported a man asked her for a ride and when she said no, the man sat himself in the driver seat of her car. The victim held the driver side door open fearing the 40-year-old male suspect was going to drive off.
The suspect instead took the victim’s purse and cell phone and ran off heading southbound on 8th Avenue. A witness seeing what occurred intervened by chasing after the suspect and asked for the purse back. The suspect gave in and dropped the purse but proceeded to run from the scene.
Officers searched the area for the suspect and found a man matching the description. The man ran away from officers westbound on James Street. Police pursued the man on foot and in their patrol vehicles until he was taken into custody without incident. The witness confirmed the man in custody was in fact the suspect who robbed the victim.
As the male suspect was arrested, he complained of previous injuries needing medical attention. Seattle Fire Department arrived but services were refused at the scene. The suspect was transported by ambulance to Harborview Medical Center for further evaluation.
Once medically cleared, the male suspect was later booked into King County Jail for robbery and his outstanding fugitive warrant.
