The 15-year-old burglary suspect arrested here Wednesday after a witness chased him down is also a suspect in a robbery, and could be linked to numerous local burglaries, Seattle Police said this afternoon.
“You’ve had quite a flurry of residential burglaries down there,” said Terrie Johnson, police crime prevention 
coordinator for the North Precinct. “Many of them involve people coming around the back of a house, looting portable electronic equipment from the home. Juveniles are often seen.”
Officers hope they made a dent in the problem with the arrest shorty before noon Wednesday of a 15-year-old who had already been tackled by a neighbor. “Detectives will be trying to link up and charge the suspect with other crimes, residential burglaries being one of them,” Johnson said.
According to the police report, the suspect is a student at South Lake High School on Rainier Avenue South, which our news partners at The Seattle Times described as “the city’s only alternative-high school for at-risk teens.” The report states he is also wanted for investigation of a robbery, which Johnson said occurred in south Seattle.
According to the police report, a neighbor in the 1900 block of Northeast 80th Street heard the sound of glass breaking , “looked out his window and observed a black male looking through the open rear kitchen window of his neighbor’s residence.”
The window was broken and the suspect was standing on a bench he had pushed under the window, the report states. When the suspect saw the neighbor, he ran westbound on Northeast 80th, chased by the neighbor, according to the report. The neighbor won at Northeast 80th and 16th Avenue Northeast, it states. Police arrived and made an arrest.
The report also says a black female was seen standing at the bus stop at Northeast 80 and 19th Avenue Northeast, and a witness said she seemed to be a lookout. She goes to the same high school as the suspect, the report states, adding that she was handcuffed at the scene, but then released.
Details from neighbors who observed the arrest are in our earlier post.
Johnson said nearby home burglaries during the month of October occurred:
- On Northeast 80th in the 300, 1800, 1900 and 2000 blocks.
- On 17th Avenue Northeast in the 7700 block.
- On 15th Avenue Northeast in the 7700 block.
- On 18th Avenue Northeast in the 7700 block.
- On 20th Avenue Northeast in the 7000 block.
- On 24th Avenue Northeast in the 7300 block.
- On Fifth Avenue Northeast in the 8300 block.
- On Ravenna Avenue Northeast in the 8500 block.
The police report on Wednesday’s burglary arrest also mentions a second burglary that occurred an hour earlier and approximately five blocks to the south.
“That arrest was the result of watchful (neighborhood) eyes and great 911 calls,” Johnson said.
JP – Kudos for taking the necessary steps to help the police. Every extra bit of evidence helps.
In response to the racial profiling debate: My house in Maple Leaf was burglarized twice this summer and we routinely deal with obnoxious teenage wannabe thugs in the park area nearest our house. In one instance, the suspects in our burglary were white, in the other, they were of color. Same goes for the recurring issues we have in the park. Please keep this in mind when watching for suspicious activity – people of any color can be (and have been recently) up to no good in our neighborhood. Record descriptions of all individuals who appear suspicious, not just those of color. Whether or not you’re aware, we live in a diverse neighborhood and everybody deserves to be treated fairly. Take pictures, make note of license plates, keep an eye out for your neighbors.
Thank you JP!!! Very brave move on your part & kudos for doing so. Whatever the color of these little %#%$ are we need to be vigilant in taking down notes, taking pictures, license plates etc. Seems to me there are too many afraid of getting involved or “profiling” or whatever you want to call it. BUT we keep getting robbed.. and the Halloween decorations I viewed on 10-31 were smashed to pieces when out walking my dog the next a.m. I for one am sick of all of it. The next night of insomnia I have I may just go for a “walk” with my camera & my phone. Somebody’s got to do something. Glad you did!! And I will too!
Hi Neighbors — got another unbelievable story here.
Tonight I was at my friend’s house, which got burglarized 2 weeks ago. We wanted to celebrate Halloween with our community and decorated the house inside and out to invite our neighbors over.
At about 7:30pm, a group of 9 to 10 black adolescent men (not profiling here, just stating the facts) knocked on our door saying “trick or treat”. They looked innocent at first, but we weren’t comfortable opening the screen door after having been recently robbed and after having heard of burglars using Halloween as a way of forcing their way in houses (according to recent TV news). We just politely told them the truth, which is that we had only very few treats left and we wanted to reserve them for the little kids of our community (again, keep in mind that they were in their late teens …who **at this age** comes knock on doors with a group of 9 others at night time?!).
We peeked outside when they left and saw them steal and damage some of our outdoor decoration. I gave them the impression of letting them go but actually followed. They went to Bus station across from Safeway on Roosevelt Way. I waited for the bus to come (Route 67 @ 8:18pm), let them hop on, and then I ran to the bus and hopped in with my iPhone and took pictures, which I’ll report to the police.
When they saw me take pictures, two of them came from the back to attack me and take my phone; but the Bus driver helped block their move and and the driver asked to get off the bus to avoid conflict. I got off and kept snapping pictures as the bus left, but by that time, they were covering their heads with their hoodies, or ducking down.
With the economic situation the way it is, it is doubtful that crime rates will drop overnight. So, let’s all keep everybody’s back and report ANY and ALL suspicious activity.
Hope this helps.
J P
Wasn’t the group arrested last year a group of white kids? We have ADWAS which has people of many different ethnicities and their relatives and visitors. We have a low-income housing complex which has led to more black youths in the Northgate area.
We don’t know the race of who or whom is committing all the burglaries and 5pm is not an unreasonable or suspicious hour. There were 4 white youths dressed the way kids do “snaking” around the
neighborhood the other night about midnight. They ended up in the park (common issue) at 80th and Roosevelt.
Kids do that, Maple Leaf Resident. While it’s important to report suspicious behavior it’s equally important that we do that responsibly so as not to waste police time or resources. Suspicious to me is 3am and someone has been loitering near a vehicle or home, trying to avoid attention, and they don’t appear to be waiting for their ride to show up. Oh yeah, and the 3 teen boys I caught smoking pot near my place on a Saturday afternoon right out in the open? White.
This all reminds me of:
Sheriff: Well, if we have reason to believe there’s going to be a riot started, somebody tells me there’s going to be trouble if you don’t stop them, then its my duty to stop them.
RFK: You go out there and arrest them?
Sheriff: Absolutely.
RFK: Who told you that they were going to riot?
Sheriff: The men right out in the field that they were talking to said if you don’t get them out of here we’re going to cut their hearts out. So rather than letting them get cut you remove the cause.
RFK: This is a most interesting concept, I think, that you suddenly hear talk about that somebody makes a report about somebody’s going to get out of order, perhaps violate the law, and you go in and arrest them, and they haven’t done anything wrong. How do you go arrest somebody if they haven’t violated the law?
Sheriff: They are ready to violate the law,in other words… just like these labor people out here…
RFK: Could I suggest in the interim period of time, in the luncheon period of time, that the sheriff and the district attorney read the Constitution of the United States.
Four dudes snaking around the neighborhood together, pants hanging low, wreaking of weed… These 4 were a sight straight off of 3rd and Bell in Downtown Seattle. I called 911 cause I know trouble when I see it. How often do you see four late 20’s African-American guys creeping around the side streets of Maple Leaf? It was a first for me, and that’s why I alerted those with the authority to do something should they need to.
I know trouble when I see it, and I can assure you… They were not heading to the Maple Leaf Book Club. These guys were up to something illicit. By the way, just cause our mayor/police chooses not to prosecute overt marijuana use, it still doesn’t make it legal. Oh boy, hope I don’t open another can of worms here…
Again. If you see something that just doesn’t feel right outside your home, please call 911. Mine and my neighbor’s property is more important to me than feeling bad for what some might call racial profiling.
So, when my brown-skinned PhD students walk from the bus stop to my Maple Leaf house for a meeting, should I be worried that a well-intentioned neighbor will call 911 on them? Calling the police on someone because of their race is not the American way. If someone fits a description of a known criminal, by all means err on the side of calling the police. But, having brown skin does not a criminal make. If we profile based on race this way, then maybe we should all call the cops on rich, middle-aged White men who work in banking (afterall, they fit the profile of those who committ financial fraud crimes).
@Nate:
I agree. You have data and info to justify the profiling.
Yes, but there is a difference in searching for someone who has committed a crime based on their description, and automatically becoming suspicious that someone has or might commit a crime because of their race.
I’m certainly not saying that racial profiling can’t be effective in crime prevention, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t worthwhile civil liberties issues that we should at least openly discuss. I don’t envy the police who have to try to balance these issues in their everyday work.
Just to add my two cents:
Unfortunately profiling people, of which a commonly used characteristic is race, is a vital task in addressing crime. For example, if a white male that was estimated to be 6 foot tall robbed a 7 eleven, it would be pretty darn foolish to start questioning and considering Asian woman that are 5 foot tall as suspects. It’s not about being racist, it’s about using the data you have to improve your statistical chances of addressing the issue in a timely manner.
I think its great that more and more people in the neighborhood are making a conscious effort to identify things that seem out of place and exchange information. Of course everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but if more than one neighbor states that they see out of place activity by a certain group of individuals and provides their race, sex, estimated age, clothing description, vehicle description, etc…. we have to consider those characteristics when watching out for activity in the neighborhood.
Being a good liberal I cringe at the thought of straight racial profiling, but of course, what can you do when there have been several recent crimes committed by black-males in what is largely a white neighborhood.
I have no statistics to know whether blacks are really committing a disproportionate amount of crime in our neighborhood, but it “feels” that way, and that ultimately is all that matters.
I’m not worried about overt racism against my son in Maple Leaf (we are generally good hearted folk), but being white myself, I don’t know what it is like to constantly watched until you can “prove” yourself to be one of the “good ones.”
Oh and BTW Nate, I’m sure if your kid is in school during the day like he should be, or not out casing houses in the middle of the night like he shouldn’t be, he’ll be treated just fine.
Whatever.. It’s my opinion & that’s the great thing about opinions! We can all have our own & they don’t have to match.
Yikes, with sentaments like that, I fear for how my mixed-race son will be treated growing up in this neighborhood.
There is a fine line between saying beware of things that look out of place and then moving on to some very loaded generalities there “neighbor.”
This is getting ridiculous! Good job for watchful neighbors reporting this quickly.. but I have a feeling it’s not over. I too will probably call 911 if I see any black males in my area.. Not to racially profile, but then again, if you don’t want the bad rap, quit committing crimes & being the majority in jail…and maybe the profiling will stop. For now it seems like profiling might be a good thing to do. As far as catching these jerks.
Would be nice if general time frames of the neighborhood burglaries were provided….just so we kn0w if there is (or isn’t) a pattern.
Yesterday around 5 PM I was walking through our neighborhood and came across 4 suspicious looking fellas on foot at 85th and 17th NE. They were walking briskly, criss-crossing their way up to 15th NE (heading north).
They were 4 black males who looked to be in their 20’s, two were wearing grey jackets, and just one carrying a backpack. I walked right past them on the sidewalk, and they wreaked STRONGLY of marijuana. Not to racially profile, but I’ve not seen these guys around the neighborhood before, and it just seemed suspicious that they were cutting up and down streets in a manner that didn’t make sense. Given the number of recent break-ins, I dialed 911.
Still curious to see where they were going, I got in my car to take a look. I thought maybe they would still be heading north on 15th NE toward Northgate, but they were gone. I found them 10 minutes later at 97th and 12th NE, but now doubling back again toward 15th NE.
Who knows if the cops found or talked to these guys. In fairness, I did not see them do anything illegal. But if you ask me, these guys looked like they were up to no good (possibly scouting houses to hit up). My point is that if you see something like this or suspect anything, call 911. Let the cops figure it out.