FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Five teen boys who were arrested for a strongarm robbery in Ballard appeared before a judge on Friday facing allegations of robbery in the first degree.
Three of the teens are 15 years old, another is 14 and one is 13.
Prosecutors asked the judge to keep the boys detained. All but one will remain in a juvenile detention center. One of the teens is allowed to be released on electronic home monitoring and must participate in counseling.
KING 5 learned in court the suspects were wearing ski masks and were found with the victim's phone and a hammer.
The teens were arrested at The Commons at Federal Way Thursday afternoon after they were spotted driving a stolen car that was connected to a robbery.
The vehicle was reported stolen out of the 2200 block of Franklin Avenue Northeast in the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle earlier in the day, according to the Seattle Police Department (SPD).
Officers were called to the 6500 block of 15th Avenue in Ballard around 12 p.m. Thursday for a report of a robbery. A victim said the suspects had stolen his phone and backpack along with other items. The victim sustained minor injuries from the robbery. SPD said the suspects fled from the scene in two stolen vehicles.
Officers tried to stop the cars when they were spotted in the Victory Heights neighborhood but they fled, according to SPD.
Officers from the north precinct later spotted one of the cars traveling southbound on Interstate 5. A helicopter from the King County Sheriff's Office, the Washington State Patrol and the Federal Way Police Department were able to help track the car to The Commons at Federal Way.
The driver parked the car and then all five teens fled into The Commons. Officers followed the boys into the shopping mall and engaged in a brief foot pursuit, according to SPD.
All five teens were arrested after they exited the mall a short time later.
SPD was able to recover the stolen vehicle and the items stolen from the strongarm robbery.
Detectives with the General Investigations Unit are looking into whether the teens were involved in other incidents including stolen cars, car prowls and an armed robbery.
The total number of juvenile crimes referred to the prosecutor’s office between 1998 and 2021 dropped 91 percent. The number of referrals from police for violent crimes which includes first-degree robbery went down by 68% during that same time period.
“Those are concerning cases, but overall, we've seen fewer and fewer referrals for felony crimes with juveniles, from police departments. When we do get those high-profile cases, you can expect prosecutors to go to court and ask for judges to reasonably hold somebody when particularly there's threats with guns, or a very serious Class A felony crimes,” said Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the King County Prosecutor’s Office.
The King County Prosecutor’s office said the teens have no previous cases referred to their office and under state law none of the teens can be tried as an adult.
They will be back in front of a judge next week where prosecutors will have more evidence from police and will make a charging decision.