On Thursday, Kirkland police officers arrested five juveniles who were involved in a number of crimes that began the day before and spanned from Kirkland, to Issaquah and Renton.
The teens’ spree began Wednesday when Kirkland police officers responded to a carjacking at 9:51 a.m. in the Peter Kirk Municipal Parking Garage at 308 Kirkland Ave.
According to a City of Kirkland press release, a woman in her 70s had just entered her car when a group of four teenagers approached. The woman exited her car to see if the group needed help, leaving her wallet and purse in the car. The group attacked the woman, throwing her to the ground several times before fleeing in her vehicle, the release states. The woman was treated by the Kirkland Fire Department for various abrasions and bruising.
Lt. John Haslip with the Kirkland Police Department said the victim, who is a Kirkland resident, was cleared at the scene.
Kirkland detectives immediately began investigating the incident.
On Thursday morning, they received information that the victim’s stolen vehicle had been used in a felony shoplifting in Issaquah in which four to five suspects fled a Best Buy electronics store with a large quantity of stolen merchandise, the release states.
Issaquah police detectives responded to investigate the incident and began an area search for the stolen vehicle, the release continued. Troopers with the Washington State Patrol located the unoccupied vehicle in a retail area near a pawnshop in Renton. The suspects had just finished successfully pawning the stolen electronics when they spotted the police and fled on foot.
Numerous officers from the Renton and Bellevue police departments responded and were able to quickly locate and arrest the four female and one male juvenile suspects.
Haslip said both the Renton and Bellevue police departments put a lot of cars out on the street to locate the suspects and did a tremendous job, adding that while Kirkland took the lead on the investigation, the other three law enforcement agencies involved in the case “were instrumental.”
In the press release, Kirkland police expressed their “deep gratitude to the numerous police agencies who helped put an end to this crime spree, preventing additional victimization.”
Kirkland detectives interviewed the five suspects, who ranged from 15-17 years old. The four juvenile females admitted their involvement in the Kirkland carjacking and using the woman’s stolen credit cards. Haslip said they are still collecting evidence for the latter.
He added that there is no evidence to show that the male suspect was involved in these crimes but the suspects implicated that another individual was involved and police are following up on this.
All five juveniles admitted to the felony theft from the Issaquah Best Buy and to selling the stolen electronics at the Renton pawnshop.
While Haslip could not share which cities the suspects reside in, he did say all five live in King County.
The suspects have not been charged yet and Haslip said they are not sure yet if they will be charged as adults or minors. He added that three of the suspects were booked on other outstanding warrants.
For their activity this week, the five suspects face possible felony charges, including first-degree robbery, first-degree theft and trafficking in stolen property.
Haslip added that they are happy the teens are off the street and hope this experience helps curtail any future criminal activity.
