SPD:
On December 17th South Precinct officers responded to a call of a strong arm robbery aboard a Metro bus at Renton Avenue South and South Henderson. At about 9:24 pm, an officer was flagged down by the Metro driver who stated that one of his passengers had just been beaten up and robbed. The victim was aboard a Metro bus playing a video game on his i-phone. He was sitting toward the front of the bus.
When the bus was preparing to stop at a busstop at Renton Ave. S. and South Henderson, four suspects approached the front of the bus as if they were getting off. As the suspects, described as three black males and a black female, passed the victim, one of the suspects grabbed the victim’s phone from out of his hands and tried to run away. The victim tried to retain the phone in his grasp and he and the suspect struggled over it. At that point, the other suspects began punching the victim in the face and head. The victim had to let go of his phone in order to protect himself while the suspects continued to assault him. The suspects got off the bus and ran northbound on Renton Avenue South.
As the officer was obtaining information from the victim and witnesses aboard the bus, another officer in the area located a possible suspect near 46th Avenue South and South Cloverdale Street. The suspect fled from officers before they could contact him. Officers quickly set up containment for a K-9 track.
An officer on containment in the 8400 Block of 47th Avenue South observed a car with four teenagers in it, matching the physical and clothing description of the suspects. The car was stopped and the occupants detained. Four of the five juvenile suspects in the car were positively identified and arrested and booked into the Youth Services Center for Investigation of Robbery.
The i-phone was not recovered. The victim suffered some minor scrapes and bruising to his face, but declined medical treatment. Robbery Unit detectives will be responsible for the follow up investigation.
Photo/Will Austin Photography
Who to know, where to eat & what to do in one of America’s most diverse zip codes!
{ 22 comments }
Nice Job SPD! Glad to see that you seem to have the a bit more resources that have allowed you to pursue more South End incidents with vigor.
Get ‘em!
How F’ing stupid to attack someone for a phone, plus I bet these little (insert favorite expletive here) got out the next day and probably will face no consequences.
MarkB: For some people in the broader law enforcement world (not just police), iPods and iPhones are referred to as “iRobs.” They’re certainly one of the hotter targets for robberies.
I’m glad SPD caught the suspects. This story is a reminder to always be cautious when you’re using a fancy phone in public. I think you should certainly be able to use it wherever you want, but staring at your phone screen makes you less aware of your surroundings. I’m very hesitant to use it when I’m walking down the street, because I think it makes me a target.
Is that why helicopters were circling above by my house last night? I was wondering what was going on.
Bridgette,
You are not Viking Jim are you?
If you are you know who this is.
If AT&T and Apple permanently bricked stolen iPhones (and other companies with their smart phones) there would be no incentive to steal them.
Anne,
While your suggestion may make sense to most folks these punks aren’t necessarily that smart and many probably can’t read.
Think of how many folks have been robbed of tube TVs over the past few years. They’re essentially worth nothing but that doesn’t slow down robberies for quite a while.
Still would be worth doing though
“Think of how many folks have been robbed of tube TVs over the past few years. They’re essentially worth nothing but that doesn’t slow down robberies for quite a while.”
It slows them down as far as tube TV’s weigh an F’ng ton.
MarkB–nope. Don’t even know Viking Jim.
It will only take a couple of weeks after the punks’ customers find that they don’t work when they try to sign up for service, for them to figure it out. A tube TV is worthless (probably still $5-15 the robber didn’t have before) but it still works when you plug it in.
Mark B: Amen to that! Our tube tv has to weigh about 275 lbs. I pity the poor guy trying to hump that down the sidewalk. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.
Henderson around Renton Ave S is really unsafe feeling at night. The boarded up homes and under-construction apartments on the south side of the street don’t help either. Fingers crossed the new BBQ joint across from Vince’s is a harbinger of some well-needed gentrification at this corner!
I need to walk this way past Rainier Beach H.S. to get to and from light rail, and I really feel like I’m rolling the dice every time I do, especially in the evening (with it getting dark at 4:15 or so these days!). The guy getting mugged was lucky in a way that he was on the bus, and not just walking down the street. With your phone gone, no easy way to call the cops, and good luck flagging down a car.
Lost or stolen iPhones have a tracking thingy called “Find My Phone” that can locate it and/or wipe it. It comes with the MobileMe service (a pay thingy).
IF this trend in iPod/iPhone theft continues, Apple will have to provide this service free. It will hurt their bottom line ultimately.
As for the punks…the rage on the streets is growing…someone may bite back soon.
The Lower 48: Guardian-1 was up in the air and available so we called it in when the K9 track began.
Don’t know if you all noticed but the parents of these young but accomplished career criminals were on TV tonight saying how they are absolutely certain that their little darlings are completely innocent.
I guess my question to them would have been whether their upstanding and productive children, who are no doubt pillars of the community and hard working students in school, were also innocent every other time they were convicted of violent felonies, or just this time?
See you on the streets.
I don’t see how the city can push for all of us to get rid of our cars and use public transit all the time until they can guarantee a little more safety. There’s no way I will consider pt anytime after dark.
http://blutube.policeone.com/Clip-fs.aspx?key=5E1E72EAE53841E3&overrideC
shows how the police helicopters can spot people/suspects
How terrible people can’t use their phones and music players in public anymore. I stopped using mine after hearing those items are targeted by young thieves.
Greener Grad, the helicopter video was cool, thanks.
Santa brought our family pepper spray for our stockings. It shoots up to 10 feet and cost 8 bucks on amazon.
Whitney: That’s my kind’a Santa!
Youth Services – A.k.a. a revolving door
Where the heck are the parents and why are they not responsible for their offspring?
thanks for the great video, Greener Grad!
“Where the heck are the parents and why are they not responsible for their offspring?”
The parents were on TV talking about how innocent the kids are despite their previous criminal history.
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