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Witnesses come to aid in 14th/John iPhone robbery, chase thief down

  • ‘Phonesnatcher’ nabbed after chase: Breanne sent us details earlier today of quick actions by two witnesses to a street robbery near 14th and John that ended with the thief out of breath and on his way to jail:

Some jerk stole a woman’s phone from the vicinity of 14th and John early this afternoon. A man joined her and chased him down John and over to 13th and Denny, where they caught him and pinned him to the ground until the cops showed. It took them all of about three minutes, and then four cop cars arrived, sirens screaming. 


So if you’ve gotten questions about what all the hullabaloo was just before 1 pm today, that’s what was going on. It sounded like the woman got her phone back. The guy who helped her chase down the phonesnatcher seemed like a stranger to her, so he did a pretty great thing today.

Here are the details from SPD:

A tired and out of breath suspect gives up after running off with a woman’s I-Phone. On 07/15/2012, at approximately 12:41 p.m., a witness called police to report that at 13th Ave E and E John he had observed a female chasing a white male yelling that her cell phone had been stolen.

Officers arrived on scene at 13th Ave E and E Denny and observed two witnesses standing over a man. The two witnesses told officers that they had chased this suspect southbound through an alley from 13th Ave E and E John Street after he had stolen the victim’s cell phone.

Both witnesses observed the suspect run away southbound with the woman’s cell phone. The victim was yelling and attempting to run after him.

The suspect gave up and sat down on the ground in the 1300 block of E Denny. He placed the cell phone on the ground and the two witnesses gave the cell phone back to the victim.

According to the victim the suspect had asked to borrow her I-phone. She allowed the man to make a call but he ran away with the cell phone after he had made his call.

The 26-year-old man admitted to stealing the victim’s I-Phone.  He was booked into King County Jail for Theft and a no bail Edmonds Police Department misdemeanor warrant for DUI.

  • Gunpoint robber drives away: CHS has learned details of an attempted armed hold-up Sunday evening just south of Seattle University. According to the account, a woman told police she was held up by a man with a gun in a gray Taurus near 12th and E Remington Court Sunday around 7:15p. The woman told police she did not give the man any money and he left in the vehicle.
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12 Comments
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I-Comment
12 years ago

haha I-Phone

Kris Wilke
12 years ago

I witnessed this today as I was driving down the hill. The woman was nearly hit by a car as she chased the robber. it was surreal. There was a guy in a truck ahead of me who drove up on the sidewalk, jumped out and gave chase. I drove around to the other side of the empty lot, He came out towards me and I yelled at him that I had called the police. He tried to give me the cell phone and I yelled for him to put it down. The police were there so quickly. The guy was white, in his 20’s, had a pony tail and a backpack. What an odd thing for someone to do in broad daylight. I wondered later if he had a drug habit or was mentally off. What a way to start off a day.

kris Wilke
12 years ago

I did not see him get pinned to the ground, When I pulled in front of him he was standing,,,no one had pinned him to the ground…..the police arrived and arrested him.

johnny88
12 years ago

Thats a very wierd story. What I don’t understand is why the girl gave her phone to a stranger on the street. Words of wisdom. “Never give anything (you want to keep) to a stranger on the street”.

calhoun
calhoun
12 years ago

I’m glad this incident resulted in a good outcome, but it could have been otherwise. One of the hazards of giving chase is that you are at high-risk for getting hit by a car. I watched the video of the other recent incident (on 15th in front of Cafe Ladro), and the victim shot out into the street in pursuit…he was lucky it was early in the morning and there was little traffic. He could have been flattened.

I cannot believe that people are STILL loaning their phone to complete strangers. Have you not learned anything from the multitude of thefts when this is done?

kris Wilke
12 years ago

I was wondering that myself. Maybe she was a tourist. But still…. I know when I am traveling I am really aware of my surroundings. I’m sure she won’t be loaning her phone out again.

JimS.
12 years ago

I suspect many people do this because someone asks , and they’re just too wussy to tell them “no”. They’re more worried about someone getting angry or insulted for being told no, than they are that the person will rip them off.

nwviking
12 years ago

best thing to do if someone asks you for something on the street is say “Sorry” or “No, thank you” and keep on walking. From my experience, a lot of the panhandlers these days not only won’t be satisfied with what you give them, but are likely to pester you for more than what’s offered. Or, as in this case, will attempt to rob or molest you in some way.

Dpt
Dpt
12 years ago

Best is to ignore them. Don’t even say no, no thank you, or sorry.

MrsD
12 years ago

This has happened to a woman I work with, and to my friend’s teen son. People tell a sob story, say they need to call for a ride, they were just mugged, or they’re ill or lost. The person hands over the phone and bam! They’re off and running. It’s human nature, and human kindness, that makes them hand over their phone. Not everyone expects to be victimized. Especially those who’ve never had the miserable experience before.

Kris Wilke
12 years ago

good point. I’ve been robbed before. Sometimes you just get caught off guard.

Ron Williams
12 years ago

Enough of this nonsense…
Please be safe everyone…
Lets all make this ‘Crime Prevention Week’ on Capitol Hill – (Block Party Weekend).

http://www.SeattleActionNetwork.com

thank you