File photo

File photo

Police arrest Federal Way teens in multi-city crime spree

Girls ages 13, 14 and 16 allegedly involved in vehicle theft, malicious mischief and vehicle prowl

Charges have been filed against three juveniles from Federal Way who were involved in a recent multi-city crime spree over the course of about a week.

The crime spree involved at least one car theft as well as multiple vehicle break-ins and damage. The teen girls have also been linked to a robbery in Federal Way.

The girls are ages 13, 14 and 16. At least one more individual is also believed to have been involved, according to police statements in the charging documents, but has not been named. The Kent Reporter does not name minors unless they have been charged as adults.

On Jan. 25 at approximately 10:15 p.m., a Bellevue Police officer responded to a motor vehicle prowl that included two vehicles whose windows had been smashed.

Footage from the individual’s home surveillance camera showed three suspects who appeared to be juvenile females wearing matching pajama pants. After breaking the windows of the vehicles, they fled in a blue Hyundai Accent.

Pictures of the suspects were shared with the rest of the police department, and the vehicle was identified as being stolen to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. The blue Hyundai had been stolen sometime during the night of Jan. 20 or the morning of Jan. 21 from Puyallup.

A database search by police showed that the vehicle was linked to a robbery case on Jan. 25 in Federal Way where individuals had allegedly stolen several bottles of liquor. The next day, an officer from the Federal Way Police Department discovered the plates from the blue Hyundai in a flower bed at an apartment complex in Federal Way.

On Jan. 27, a man called the Bellevue police to identify his daughter as one of the individuals reportedly in footage of the vehicle break-ins. He told them that his pastor had seen footage of the Bellevue robberies on the news and recognized his daughter. The father then reportedly identified the other two individuals as friends of his daughter.

Two days later, Federal Way police officers recovered the blue Hyundai on the side of the road, damaged and missing license plates. The dump site was only a mile or so from where suspects were later arrested later that day.

The 13-year-old and 14-year-old were also identified as being involved in the Federal Way robbery on Jan. 25 via security footage.

The father of the 13-year-old who initially made the identification said that he has been “doing his best” with her and has been “trying to constantly track her down so she doesn’t get into more trouble than she already is,” according to charging documents. He also said that he has been “aware of her crime streak the last week or so, involving crimes in Tacoma, Auburn, Kent, Bellevue and Federal Way.”

The charges that have been filed for the three individuals include: taking a motor vehicle without permission in the second degree (class C felony), malicious mischief in the second degree (physical damage), vehicle prowl in the second degree.

The suspects have all had their first appearance hearing and their cases are all being tried through traditional prosecution, not diversion. They are currently being held at the juvenile detention center in Seattle.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in Northwest

t
Man, 19, dies in Auburn shooting

Officers found the man in the 1900 block of 22nd Way NE with a gunshot wound.

The suspects’ vehicle. Photo courtesy of the Renton Police Department.
Man dragged, shot, killed in Renton after holding onto car during theft

Police report there are at least two suspects who have not yet been identified.

t
Man shot and killed in Federal Way

A K9 search team was activated, but no suspect was located after Feb. 1 shooting

Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. FILE PHOTO
Federal Way man accused of killing teen with machete goes to trial

His defense claims there’s no evidence to show he was involved or ever present

A “no trespassing” sign outside of the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. (Grace Deng/Washington State Standard)
Feds fly 110 detained migrants to Washington state, advocacy group says

Dozens of people sent to a detention center in Tacoma.

t
Congressman Adam Smith criticizes Trump for accusing DEI for plane crash

‘The president is not seeking to solve real problems by blaming DEI,’ Smith says

The four yellow parcels in the center of the image are where Portofino Investment plans to develop between 107 and 132 middle incoming housing units. Image courtesy King County Assessor
Up to 132 townhomes slated to be built on Lea Hill in Auburn

The properties are part of the area Auburn annexed from Kent in 2024

Courtesy Photo, King County
Man accused of killing his mother in Renton

‘I killed my mother,’ the suspect told police, according to court documents.

Students raise their hands to indicate that they participated in breakfast that morning during attendance. Each class tracks meals a different way, finding how best to seamlessly integrate it into their usual morning activities. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror.
Breakfast in the Classroom program shines in Federal Way | Photos

United Way of King County presents award to Federal Way Public Schools for fighting student hunger

Employees work at Fall City’s Aroma Coffee Co. on Jan. 14, 2025. (Grace Gorenflo/Valley Record)
Small businesses brace for higher minimum wage in King County

New wage for unincorporated areas went into effect Jan. 1, but the rules are still being determined.

Leonel Gonzalez at his sentencing. Photo by Joshua Solorzano/Sound Publishing
Man sentenced to 39 years for fatal carjacking at Federal Way Crossings

The mother of the victim in 2021 shooting told the man that she forgives him

Looking out over Cell 8 during the fall 2024 public tour of the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
Where will all the waste go? King County’s only landfill expected to be completely full by 2040

Cedar Hills Regional Landfill receives about 1 million tons of waste a year.