Police linking juvenile suspects to seven armed robberies in Federal Way over past month

Search of nearby apartment complex links juvenile residents to possibly four 7-Eleven robberies, three at Subway shops.

By Haley Donwerth • November 14, 2019 10:55 am
Police linking juvenile suspects to seven armed robberies in Federal Way over past month

Federal Way police may have linked the suspects in seven armed robberies over the past month — including three at Subway shops and four at a 7-Eleven — to juveniles who live at a nearby apartment complex.

After the most recent armed robbery of the 7-Eleven at 104 SW 312th St. on Tuesday, police officers used K-9 units to track the suspects and obtain more detailed descriptions. During that robbering, the suspects entered the business, displayed a handgun and demanded money.

Federal Way police Cmdr. Kurt Schwan said after police tracked the suspects, who fled on foot, to a nearby apartment complex, officers believe they found the suspects in an apartment occupied by one adult female and four juveniles, three of which match the description of the seven robberies — black males between the ages of 15 and 19.

Schwan said that a search warrant was served at the apartment earlier this week and they located several items of evidence that linked the residents to most, if not all, of the recent armed robberies in the local area.

However, Schwan said that due to the overwhelming amount of evidence, there have been no arrests yet because detectives are still processing the evidence.

“Once this process has been completed, we are confident the suspects directly involved in these robberies will be identified and arrested,” Schwan stated in an email.

Over the past four weeks, these robberies have all occurred along the same strech of 1st Avenue from 312th Street to 330th Street. Three total locations were hit for a total of seven robberies, including the same 7-Eleven location three times on Oct. 13, Oct. 20, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12; a Subway located at 32925 1st Ave. S. on Oct. 14 and Nov. 5; and another Subway location at 29017 Military Road S. on Oct. 25.

In the last year, this 7-Eleven location has been the scene of five prior armed robberies on Nov. 5, Oct. 20, Oct. 13, Sept. 11 and Jan. 25, according to LexisNexis Community Crime Map.

Schwan said that in efforts to put a stop to these incidents, the Federal Way Police Department deployed numerous different tactics, including assigning dedicated investigators to the cases, utilizing the media to ask for the public’s assistance in identifying the suspects, and increased police presence through emphasis patrols.

This story has been updated with new information from the Federal Way Police Department.