Four teens arrested after multi-city crime spree in King County

Law enforcement arrested multiple teenagers on Oct. 10 in connection to a month-long crime spree of robberies, shootings, and carjackings in King County.

The Seattle Police Department stated the four teenagers, ranging from 15 to 18 years old, committed 78 robberies, carjackings, burglaries, shootings, and auto thefts within King County from September into October.

Members of the Seattle Police Department SWAT team arrested John Bailey-Johnson, 18, and three unnamed teenagers in Auburn on Oct. 10 near an exit ramp on State Route 18 and West Valley Highway South, according to first appearance documents.

Alongside Bailey-Johnson, law enforcement arrested two 16 year olds and a 15-year-old boy, according to Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr stated law enforcement completed the arrest with no gunfire and no injuries.

According to the Seattle Police Department, Seattle police SWAT operators, King County’s Guardian One helicopter, and K9 units mobilized after detectives saw the teenagers pulling into the parking lot of an apartment complex in Federal Way following a Bellevue carjacking 30 to 40 minutes prior. The teenagers exited the apartment unit and left in a stolen vehicle, with police maintaining visual on the vehicle for approximately an hour via the helicopter.

Police set up a tire deflation device after the teenagers returned to the Federal Way apartment complex and headed into a unit. As the SWAT team started to move into position, the teenagers ran out of the unit and fled into the vehicle, driving away and triggering the tire deflation device.

After driving for approximately 5 miles, the four teenagers pulled to the side on Highway 18 and attempted to change the flat tire. Law enforcement arrested all four teenagers, with two arrested following an on-foot pursuit.

According to the department, Seattle police have arrested five individuals in total in association with the crime spree with cases in cities including Seattle, Auburn, Kent, Bellevue, Redmond, Issaquah, Normandy Park, Des Moines, and Tukwila.

In an Oct. 11 release from the Seattle Police Department, the department stated King County law enforcement agencies started investigating “a rash of violent robberies, carjackings, burglaries, and shootings,” on Sept. 5.

“The targets of the majority of these robberies were gas stations and late-night fast-food restaurants. The group would often consist of 2-3 males wearing facemasks and hooded clothing. The suspects would show up in a stolen vehicle which was either taken in a vehicle theft or a carjacking. They would enter the store, prop the door open, and point guns directly at the employees demanding they open the cash register. In many cases they would destroy computers they believed were tied to surveillance footage,” stated the release.

In a West Seattle incident, a teenager fired an automatic weapon into a store after striking the entrance of a store with wood to try to break in after a clerk denied him access, stated Sgt. Brian Whicker of the Seattle Police Department. No injuries resulted to the employee.

Following the Oct. 10 arrests of the four teenagers, the Seattle Police Department hosted an Oct. 11 press conference detailing the events.

“I think it’s important that the Juvenile Justice System recognizes that juveniles have poor decision-making but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous and so we still have to deal with the Fallout when kids with poor decision-making skills are highly armed and they’re literally out of control,” stated Rahr at the conference.

King County prosecutors requested the King County Superior Court hold Bailey-Johnson on $200,000 bail at his first appearance hearing on Friday, Oct. 11. Bailey-Johnson’s defense team argued for his release on personal recognizance, with the court setting Bailey-Johnson’s bail at $100,000.

According to McNerthney, Bailey-Johnson remains in custody as of Oct. 11.

Prosecutors anticipate receiving a case from police investigators for a charging decision on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

“I want to reassure the public on behalf of the King County prosecutor’s office that we are taking these cases seriously as we do with any juvenile case and we anticipate clear accountability for these alleged crimes,” stated McNerthney at the Oct. 11 conference.

According to McNerthney’s email, law enforcement arrested Bailey-Johnson on investigation of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Law enforcement arrested one of the 16-year-old boys on investigation of robbery and investigation of unlawful possession of a firearm, and the 15-year-old boy on a warrant. Both remain in custody.

According to McNerthney’s email, the second 16-year-old boy identified by police in the investigation “does not appear [to have been] formally booked.”

McNerthney stated prosecutors will charge, of the 78 cases, referrals from police investigators that meet the statewide legal requirements for felony charges.

“More cases are likely to show up once the younger suspects are booked into juvenile detention at the Children and Family Justice Center and fingerprinted,” stated the Seattle Police Department. “On many occasions, detectives with the Latent Prints Unit responded to the scene of these armed robberies and found prints only to get no identification return. Seattle police detectives are hopeful that once these suspects get printed the latent print hits will tie them to additional crimes.”