From the SPD Blotter:
On 10/25/09, at approximately 7:30 p.m., the victim was approached by three juvenile suspects at the Northgate transit center. The suspects asked the victim for the time and the victim referred to the clock on his I-phone and told them the time.
The suspects and victim got on a bus and rode it to Brooklyn Ave. NE/Campus parkway and exited the bus. There were four suspects at this time and the victim noted that the suspects were following him.
When the victim arrive home in the 1400 block of NE 42nd street, the suspects surrounded him before he could get inside. One suspect displayed a handgun. The suspects took the victim’s jacket and personal belongings while the victim was being held at gunpoint. The suspects then fled the area.
Officers spotted possible suspects from the Robbery in the area of Montlake Ave. N/Pacific St. The suspects fled and three of the four were caught just south of the Montlake bridge.
Officers contacted the victim and conducted a show up. The victim identified the suspects, who were subsequently taken into custody and transported to the North precinct.
Youth Service Center(YSC) screened the booking for one Robbery suspect, but declined the other two as “possessing the victim’s property” did not meet their booking criteria. The primary Robbery suspect was transported and booked into YSC, the other two suspects were investigated and released after being fingerprinted with charges requested.
Seattlepi.com has the story here as well.
Is anyone else bothered by the fact that “possessing the victim’s property” did not meet YCS's booking criteria?
The possession of stolen property, coupled with the victim's eye-witness ID of these predators as participants in an armed robbery should have been enough to take them off the streets for a long, long time.
Can you guess what this means to you and me and our loved ones?
It means they are still out there. We should be prepared to defend ourselves against such attacks – since it is increasingly evident that the juvenile justice system cannot – or will not.
The victim should have entered a park and called police. (with the "gun ban" in the parks and all) The suspects would have followed the law of course and found someone else to rob at gunpoint.