While patrolling in their district around 3:00 p.m. Monday, South Precinct officers observed a suspicious KIA sedan vehicle occupied by four subjects who appeared to be wearing black ski masks. The vehicle also had its rear passenger side window broken out.
Due to recent criminal activity in the area involving groups of suspects and stolen vehicles, police attempted to detain the vehicle in the 2700 block of Rainier Avenue South. The suspect driver started taking evasive maneuvers and increased its speed as it drove through a nearby parking lot.
Police stopped efforts to detain the vehicle but reacquired it a short time later near the intersection of South Walker Street and Martin Luther King Junior Way South. The suspect driver then made a turn onto a roadway travelling southbound but was prevented from driving further by another vehicle travelling northbound.
The suspect vehicle came to an abrupt stop and all four occupants exited the car fleeing from the location. The vehicle was left in the drive position and with all its doors open.
Officers pursued the four suspects on foot and took three out of the four into custody. The fourth male suspect was last seen running northbound on 29th Avenue South. The vehicle had just been reported stolen an hour before this incident occurred.
The three juvenile males – two 13-year-olds and one 12-year-old – were arrested for their associated crimes. All three males were arrested for obstruction, but the two 13-year-olds had an additional charge of eluding a police vehicle. One 13-year-old was also arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and booked into the King County Child and Family Justice Center. The other two juveniles were released to their guardians.