SEATTLE — Five juveniles were arrested after multiple car thefts and a police pursuit in Seattle on Tuesday.
King County prosecutors asked for all five juveniles to be held in custody; three juveniles appeared before a judge on May 8 and will remain in custody. The two others were expected to have their first appearance hearings later on Wednesday, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (KCPAO).
Possible charges for the juveniles range from burglary and malicious mischief to motor vehicle theft. None of them have officially been charged in court yet.
A group of two 12-year-olds, a 14-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old had reportedly been stealing cars within the city throughout the day.
At around 4 p.m., Seattle police responded to Northwest 80th Street and 16th Avenue Northwest for a report that five people wearing masks had abandoned a running vehicle. While police were traveling to the location, they said the youths stole another car and fled.
Based on the license plate, one of the cars was involved in an armed robbery earlier in the day, according to police.
Seattle police began to pursue them. SWAT and the King County Sheriff's Office helicopter Guardian One assisted Seattle police in keeping track of the suspects' location during the car chase.
The pursuit ended at Northwest 80th Street and 15th Avenue Northwest when the group ran into another car. No injuries were reported as a result of that collision.
Three of the suspects were immediately arrested, one was taken into custody after a short foot chase, and another was located by Guardian One near the scene and taken into custody.
Seattle police said the group is suspected of a weeks-long crime spree where the group allegedly committed more than a dozen robberies, assaults, car thefts and hit-and-runs. The spree began April 29, according to police.
In one day, police said the youths robbed a Capitol Hill convenience store at gunpoint, tried to run over a man with their car at the Magnuson Park boat launch and assaulted a woman in the Licton Springs neighborhood.