It appears the juvenile taken into custody last week at Kentridge High School for a reported carjacking was not the person who allegedly committed the crime.
“The victim in the case did not identify the respondent as the person involved – the victim said the person involved in the incident had different clothes and an earring,” said Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, in a Sept. 10 email. “So the showup with the victim had a negative identification.
“Following that, the court only found probable cause for driving with no valid driver’s license and released the respondent to his grandmother with the standard conditions of release.”
Those conditions include no alcohol or non-prescribed drugs, attend school, no weapons, attend all court dates required to be in person and no new law violations, McNerthney said.
The carjacking remains under investigation by the Kent Police.
“Kent Police are still working on the case right now and in communication with King County prosecutors,” McNerthney said. “If or when there is additional information, prosecutors can make a charging decision.”
Kentridge High School went into lockdown Thursday morning, Sept. 5 after Kent Police reported a juvenile fled to the campus after allegedly committing a carjacking.
Officers responded at about 9:30 a.m. to a report of a carjacking after the victim called 911, according to a Kent Police news release. A 27-year-old Newcastle man reported the suspect had posed as a purchaser of a vehicle he had for sale.
Following a test drive and a discussion about the price for the vehicle, the suspect reportedly produced a firearm and took the vehicle, according to police. The suspect reportedly fled into the parking lot of Kentridge, 12430 SE 208th St., where the unoccupied vehicle was located by police.
The suspect was found to have entered the high school, which was immediately placed on lockdown. Officers found the suspect and took the juvenile into custody without incident.
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