Two weeks ago, we reported briefly on a warrant arrest on 12th SW just north of Roxbury, adding later that police said they’d arrested a 16-year-old wanted for carjackings and armed robberies.

(Security-camera images that police believe shows suspect – we have obscured what was his partly visible face)

Tonight we have details on the charges filed against the suspect – which involve five incidents in October, including two carjackings and one 7-11 robbery in West Seattle, all of which we had reported here. The charging documents detail the painstaking work by which SPD detectives tracked down the 16-year-old, including cross-referencing cell-phone records and matching part of a word on the back of a hoodie seen through a car window on surveillance video.

The teenager is charged as a juvenile, so we are not identifying him by name. In all these incidents, there were accomplices, but we don’t know whether any of the others have been arrested yet; this suspect was arrested at his home. He is charged with five counts of first-degree robbery, three counts of auto theft, and one count of unlawful gun possession, all felonies. He has no previous record so far as we have found.

The crime spree detailed in the charging papers spans October 12th through 28th. It begins with a carjacking in an apartment garage in the Central District just after midnight on the 12th; the victim told police a white vehicle (later found to be a Hyundai Tucson) tailgated his blue Audi into the garage, where three people attacked him, two pushing him down, one pulling a gun, taking everything from his pockets, and driving away in his car. This all took barely 2 1/2 minutes, according to security video.

The second carjacking in which he is charged happened here, at Harbor and California, around 2:40 am on October 17th (here’s our original report). The victim was in her parked car on a conference call with clients in Asia, when three people approached both sides of her car, demanding her keys and asking if she wanted to die, subsequently pulling her out, throwing her to the ground, and taking off with her beige Mercedes, which also contained a laptop, tablet, phones, purse, and other items. As we reported originally, the papers say they were tracked to Roxbury Safeway but not pursued when they fled from police. Many of the victim’s belongings were discarded near a gas pump there. Before 8 am, her Mercedes was found abandoned in Auburn. Video from that morning showed these robbers were accompanied by a car matching the Audi stolen five days earlier. It also showed a suspect in a jacket/hoodie with PLEASURES written across the back – matching an image from the Audi theft.

Three days later, also on the West Seattle waterfront in the early morning (just before 1 am October 20th), a man was carjacked while sitting in his black BMW in the 1000 block of Harbor (our original report had it as the 1100 block of Alki, per police at the time). The charging papers say three men pulled up behind him, started yelling, and one hit his car window with a rifle before demanding he get out. They took his keys, car, and phone; the latter was found tossed out on the Admiral Way hill. Meantime, the stolen blue Audi crashed on the West Seattle Bridge; witnesses say its occupants got out, got into the stolen BMW, and sped off.

Investigators linked the three incidents and started requesting cell phone data for six related locations in hopes of cross-referencing to find at least one phone present at all those locations, possibly leading them to a suspect. They got a warrant for that data on October 25th. Then on October 28th, another crime – four robbers held up a Shell station in the 7200 block of East Marginal Way at 1:19 am. Half an hour later, the California/Charlestown 7-11 was robbed (here’s our original report, which also mentions the East Marginal link), with the loot described as including less than $100 cash, vape products, and a bag of chips. They got away in a white van. A Renton 7-11 was held up half an hour after that. Then around 10:30 am, the van – a Kia Sedona stolen in High Point – turned up in Des Moines.

A week and a half later, on November 8th, after analysis led them to one phone present at five of the six locations, investigators got another warrant. They traced the phone to a 53-year-old man who turned out to be the suspect’s father. Given all the images they had of the robbers, they researched whether he had a teenage boy in the house – and indeed he did. They got a DOL photo of the suspect and started surveillance to determine who had possession of the phone. Getting live alerts on the phone’s location, they determined it was the 16-year-old suspect. Further surveillance also showed him in apparel items that matched to some of the security images from the robberies – including one in Kent (they found out Kent PD was working on a similar case). Then on November 21st, with SWAT, they arrested the suspect.

Unlike adult court, juvenile court usually schedules arraignments shortly after charges are filed. Online court records show the suspect appeared before Chief Juvenile Judge Melinda Young last Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. The judge ordered him to remain in detention, declaring him a “threat to community safety,” but said “the court will consider release once there is more structure in place.” His next hearing is December 14th.

That car crashed on SW Barton west of Delridge this past half-hour after being stolen in a carjacking near Roxbury Lanes. That’s according to police at the scene as well as dispatch audio. The driver hit this car …

… and then took off on foot. He was described over the air as a Black teenager in a green cap, black jacket, black pants, white shoes. No injuries reported; no other information about the carjacking circumstances, as SPD is referring that part of the case to King County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

SIDE NOTE: This happened while we were working on a story about the arrest of a teenager suspected of two West Seattle carjackings and one local armed robbery – watch for that a bit later.

First, two weekend incidents on which we obtained information from SPD this morning:

SOUTH ADMIRAL CARJACKING: Police say this happened around 6 am on Saturday morning in the 3200 block of California SW (near Springline). The victim told officers that the carjackers – who arrived in a red Kia Soul – tapped a handgun on his car window to get him out and steal the car, a gray 2017 Audi SUV. Dispatch audio included an early description of the carjackers as two Black men in their late teens or early 20s, thin, wearing hoodies and masks. The stolen Audi was subsequently seen headed eastbound on the West Seattle Bridge, but archived audio indicates officers lost sight of it on Beacon Hill, around Beacon/28th, shortly after a pursuit was authorized and initiated.

GUNFIRE NEAR LINCOLN PARK: 911 callers reported hearing gunfire in the vicinity of Lincoln Park’s north lot around 3 am Sunday. Police found no evidence at the time – no victim, no property damage, no casings – but hours later, a 911 caller reported finding a 9mm casing in the area.

CAR BREAK-INS: This is a reader report from Jessica:

At least two cars were broken into on 55th Ave SW in Alki last night. One of the cars was a 2003 Honda CRV (our car) and the other was a 2020 Nissan Versa Sedan (our neighbor’s car). Many of the belongings that were taken out of the cars were thrown out along 55th Ave SW. We’re interested if anyone saw unusual activity on 55th Ave SW last night or if they’ve seen additional belongings dumped in the area. We’re still missing a few minor things, we think.

Two incidents in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning:

CRASH-AND-GRAB BURGLARS HIT CANNA WEST AGAIN: Driving in the 5400 block of California SW this morning, we saw that damage to Canna West Culture Shop. It happened just before 3 am, according to archived dispatch audio – three people crashed a vehicle into the storefront and ran off southbound. The people we talked with say it appears nothing was taken; it should be noted, this is NOT where Canna sells cannabis – that’s Canna West Seattle (WSB sponsor) across the street; this shop specializes (as its sign says) in CBD products. Archived audio indicates the burglars left a gray Kia Optima behind, still running; it had not (yet) been reported stolen but they were going to check with the registered owner at a North Seattle address. The burglars seen leaving the scene were described only as “three unknown-race males, thin.” The same building houses the studio of Filigree and Shadow fragrances (WSB sponsor), which proprietor James tells us was not damaged. The previous crash-and-grab hit at Canna West was in September.

One reader report this morning:

WORK TRUCK BREAK-IN: From Amanda: “I wanted to let you know that there was a truck broken into at the Wells Fargo parking lot in The Junction last night. My friend parked his Republic Services work truck there last night around 6 pm. The robber smashed the window and stole lots of rain gear, hoodies, and boots. Mostly all with either a US Ecology logo or Republic Services logo. If the community could keep an eye out, it would be appreciated!”

Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STOLEN TAN TAHOE: From Brian:

Our tan 1995 Tahoe was stolen from our driveway on lower Henderson Street. The vehicle was stolen sometime between midnight (12/2) and 5 am. Washington plates AFL3344. Barn doors on rear and no emblems to indicate Chevy/Tahoe. License plate frames had “Catch and Release Wild Trout” both front and back. SPD report # 23-346806.

APPARENTLY ABANDONED RED CIVIC: From an anonymous texter:

There’s an abandoned red Hyundai Honda Civic at the corner of 26th and Brandon with the front wheel off. I reported on Find It Fix It but thought you might be interested in posting in case the owner wants to come get it before it is towed. License plate number BMS0627.

UPDATE: Commenter below says the car is NOT abandoned – it was in a crash and was towed there.

HOME BURGLARY: This report is from Kathy:

Our neighbor’s house on 54th Ave SW near Dakota St. was broken into this week. The neighbors are still assessing the damage and loss. It appears the crooks entered the backyard from the alley, then smashed the back glass door to get into the house.

In West Seattle Crime Watch:

STORE ROBBERIES: These two incidents, both classified as “strong-arm robberies,” were dispatched simultaneously last night, just after 9 pm. We obtained the summaries from SPD this morning. One was at the Admiral 7-11, where police say three people walked into the store, then two went behind the counter “and aggressively approached the clerk and told him to get out of the way. The clerk stepped aside”; the robbers grabbed two tills and “tobacco products,” then left in a “white vehicle.” No other descriptive information. The other was a shoplift-turned-robbery at the High Point Walgreens; here’s the summary police provided: “Officers arrived and spoke with a 28-year-old victim who reported a male suspect entered the business and stole merchandise. The victim employee attempted to stop the suspect but the suspect shoved the victim out of the way. The male suspect was described to be a Black male, approximately 5’6″-5’8″, thin build, with short black hair, wearing a white face mask, a blue/gray hoodie, and blue sweatpants. He left the location in an SUV.” No injuries reported in either robbery.

STOLEN RED YUKON: The photo and report are from Ellen:

My son’s GMC Yukon was stolen last night from the Admiral Neighborhood of W. Seattle. Maroon/Red 2005. Any help is appreciated.

LICENSE PLATE: CBX0004
FRONT PLATE: Florida State Trooper

CAR PROWLS: Reported by Paul: “Our next-door neighbors and we were victims of car prowls sometime this morning. They stole a car jumpstarter, our registration docs, and car manual out of my wife’s car and left the car open to the rain. Similar story from our next-door neighbor. We live on 51st Ave. SW off Genesee.”

Thanks to everybody who tipped us today that the West Seattle Junction Post Office‘s parking-lot mailbox had disappeared. All that’s left in its place – bolts. Took us all day but we now have confirmation from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service that the disappearance is a case of theft: “We do believe the box was stolen overnight. We are working on the investigation of the theft,” Postal Inspector John Wiegand tells WSB – no other details so far. Meantime, USPS regional spokesperson Kim Frum told us it will be replaced, but she doesn’t have a timeline yet. It’s been seven months since this mailbox and its counterpart outside the Westwood Village Post Office were both downsized – to what were described at the time as more-secure mailboxes. This isn’t the first time thieves have taken an entire West Seattle USPS box – consider the saga of the Admiral/Belvidere box that’s been stolen twice.

Two reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

BURGLARY ATTEMPT: A North Delridge resident whose home was targeted by a would-be burglar emailed us this report:

I have been trying to spread the word because it is pretty frightening and now I can’t sleep.

(Monday) morning, around 12:45 am, someone attempted to enter a downstairs bedroom from the window. The bedroom was occupied and the entry point was inside our fenced yard. The house and yard was lit and it would have been clear there were people inside. The occupant of the bedroom awoke and confronted them and they left. She said it was a heavyset light-skinned man with brown hair and a beard wearing a leather jacket and jeans. He appeared to be in his 40s. He did not appear intoxicated. Police came, but didn’t find anything.

We later noticed the intruder had moved a furniture item to the window to help get in. It would be difficult to guess that this window existed from outside the fence and we suspect the house must have been cased earlier.

Additional lights and cameras are now up, but I’m not sure when we’ll be able to sleep again.

We are located in North Delridge near 26th and Hudson.

CAR BREAK-INS: Two readers reported seeing the aftermath of break-ins along Beach Drive, including Peggy, who emailed to report: “At least 4 cars were broken into along Beach Drive between Constellation Park and La Rustica on Sunday night, and a couple more on Monday night. Folks should be careful not to keep valuables (or anything) in their cars, particularly in plain sight.”

5:09 PM: Jill is hoping at least some of what burglar(s) stole from her garage might turn up:

Our garage got broken into Saturday night and they stole two Rad Power Bikes and tools. That we can get over, but we just discovered that they also stole all of our sentimental Christmas ornaments. I’m just sick about this.

Given that these aren’t of street value, I’m hoping they were dumped somewhere in West Sea. We think there are two Rubbermaid totes of ornaments (can’t recall the tote colors, maybe red, maybe clear?).

Our garage is located on the west side of 44th between Dakota and Genesee and our neighbor saw a White Escalade drive through the alley around 4 or 5 am. That’s unconfirmed as being a car of interest but the only thing we have.

If you find any tossed-aside totes of ornaments (or dumped bikes/tools, for that matter), let us know and we’ll connect you.

7:08 PM: Jill got the ornaments back! Bikes and tools, still out there.

A teenager walking in south Admiral late this afternoon managed to get away from this drive-up confrontation described by his parent:

My teenage son was a victim of an attempted robbery (4:15/4:20 pm) in the intersection of SW Hinds Street and 42nd Ave SW. He was walking home and had just turned east on SW Hinds Street from California Ave SW, when a driver in a black Prius stopped in the intersection and rolled down their window. The driver asked him to walk up to their car. My son started to walk toward home and the driver then asked him if he was a “gang banger.” When my son didn’t respond, the driver then said “stop playing around, I’ll get out of the car and beat your a–.” My son started to walk away and the driver then asked him “what type of phone do you have.” Again my son did not respond. At this time a white car approached the intersection and my son tried to get them to roll down their window to ask for a ride/help. The driver of the car did not respond and at this point another car (red Mazda) approaches the intersection so our son walks up to that car. At the same time he was walking to the red car, the black Prius drives around the traffic circle and hits the white car from the side. The back passengers of the red Mazda opened their door, which allowed my son to get in and they drove away and were able to drop him off at our house a few blocks away.

After my son got into the red car, the black Prius backs up and then pulls forward to hit the white car again and then pulls out and continues driving south on 42nd Ave SW.

The driver of the black Prius was a black male, late teens/early 20s, wearing a gray hoodie and black ski mask (he was not wearing the ski mask at first but pulled it up over his face after he was done talking to my son). The front passenger was a black female, with black “puffy hair/afro like” hair, late teens/early 20s, wearing a black puffer jacket or hoodie? The back seat passenger was a mid-teens black male wearing a blue hoodie.

Police have been contacted by us, the driver of the red Mazda, and the white car. We have spoken to the police and have an incident # 23-340914. They believe these are the same people who have done attempted robberies/robberies in the neighborhood for the past few months. They say that they have guns on them.

We want to thank the driver and passengers in the red Mazda for getting our son home safely.

Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

EMERALD WATER ANGLERS HIT AGAIN: The fly-fishing-focused shop at 4502 42nd SW in The Junction (WSB sponsor) is dealing with the aftermath of another crime. This time, says proprietor Dave McCoy, thieves dressed all in black swooped in, grabbed expensive jackets, and ran out. For now EWA is changing their open-door policy. The store is open (until 5 pm today), but you might have to knock.

DUMPED-LIKELY-STOLEN MOTORCYCLE: Sent by Jillian:

Looks like a stolen Kawasaki motorcycle was stripped early yesterday morning and left at the Duwamish trailhead at 14th Ave SW and SW Holly. Still there this morning.

CAR PROWLERS: Seen by Todd in the 1100 block of Alki late last night after his barking dog alerted him – “I looked out into the darkness and saw a short-ish woman with a pit bull checking the doors on several parked cars in front of the condos….across the street was a taller man wearing a full mask watching her…when she came back across the street they seemed to notice that I was watching them and they did a quick walk the other direction then came back to an older black toyota tacoma pickup and took off in the direction of Alki Beach.”

Police are searching the Morgan Junction area for a suspect in a shoplift-turned-armed-robbery – the thief brandished a weapon – at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor). The description so far is a white man in his mid-to-late 20s, 6′, medium build, shaved head, beard, neck tattoo, brown coat, blue jeans, with a gun in his waistband. He left with two cases of beer (Modelo and Corona), officers told dispatch, last seen southbound on foot – they’re not sure if he was headed for California or 42nd.

Many questions about an SFD and SPD response that tied up Avalon Way for a while about an hour and a half ago. This one was a bit complicated. Here’s what is reported to have happened, according to dispatchers, officers, and firefighters:

First, firefighters were in the area dealing with an alarm at an apartment building. Meantime, initially unrelated, a woman was reported to be threatening people aboard a northbound C Line bus with a “box cutter.” That would be King County Transit Police‘s jurisdiction, but they asked for SPD help, so officers headed that way. In the meantime, the woman got off the bus and was then reported to be climbing on it, “injuring herself.” Firefighters were treating her for those injuries when they reported that she started threatening them with violence, so they asked for reinforcements including police help. As police approached, she bolted. The search ensued from there. They did not find her and couldn’t get a K-9 team to join, so the search ended. They did circulate a photo taken from the bus’s security camera, but we don’t have access to that; the description announced multiple times over the radio is that she was a Black woman in her 30s, in a reddish or purplish jacket and sweat paints. The suspect was the only person injured so far as we’ve heard.

Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch so far today:

STOLEN TACOMA: Carina‘s pickup truck is the second vehicle we’ve heard of this week that was taken just a moment after it was left running:

Stolen 2019 Toyota Tacoma from 51st and Charlestown at 7:20 am today. Car was running to warm up before taking son to day care; thieves must have been hanging out because they took it within one minute. License plate is C09904R. Truck bed has black cover. Car will likely be dumped around West Seattle. Keys were not in car so not sure how long it’ll run without them. Please call or text 206-859-1170 if you see it.

Police incident # is 23-336019.

WARRANT OPERATION ARRESTS TEENAGE SUSPECT: Thanks to the reader who sent this photo from 12th SW just north of Roxbury:

They said SWAT assisted; the operation was wrapping up when we got there to check, and all they would tell us was that it was related to a warrant. We’re still following up and will add anything more we find out.

1:40 PM UPDATE: SPD tells us, “The warrant service in the 9400 block of 12 Ave SW resulted in the arrest of a 16-year-old male juvenile who was the suspect in three armed carjackings and four armed robberies at gas stations. These crimes occurred in the South and Southwest Precinct communities in the city of Seattle.” We hope to find out more about this later.

MAILBOX PROWLER: This report is from Grant:

On Friday 11/17 at 4:00 pm, we chased off a skinny caucasian mail thief in a black hoodie driving a small dark gray or black car with a noisy muffler. The vehicle has a dark stripe on the bumper or rear/roof, and a taped-up / plastic-wrapped driver’s-side rear window. The person in this video damaged the neighbor’s locking mailbox by forcbly pulling it open and breaking the lock – so they know some mailbox locks can be easily defeated. We wanted to share this photo and video so other West Seattle residents could be alert if they see this vehicle in their neighborhood. Video (here). This occurred in the Morgan Junction / Pelly Place area.

Lauren reports her car was stolen from her garage in Gatewood just before 1:30 this afternoon: “It’s a black Subaru Crosstrek. License place is BWV1276; has a “life is good” magnet on the back. The incident # is 23-335354.”

UPDATE: Found – see comments.

Thomas reports, “My car got stolen this morning around 8:30 am. In front of my apartment, the address is 4208 Beach Dr. The stolen vehicle is the 2015 Lexus CT200, white with black top. Please help me find the car.” We’re still awaiting the plate and report #s and will add when we have them.

(Added 5:15 am: Photo of van being towed, sent by @WestSeaWX)

3:58 AM: Rush Hour, the Junction shop hit early Friday by crash-and-grab burglar(s) driving a stolen Silverado, has just been hit again. This time a Kia Sedona (registered in Kent, not yet confirmed stolen) was used – someone saw it lodged in the building, and called it in just after 3:30 am. Police are there now investigating. Dispatch told officers that there was a report of a gray SUV leaving the scene after the van was abandoned. Rush Hour already was planning a move to a new location in two weeks.

ADDED MONDAY NIGHT: As linked in comments, a crowdfunding campaign has launched to help Rush Hour recover.