Seattle police arrested a 17-year-old boy for an armed robbery at a Walgreens in West Seattle on Saturday afternoon.
The crime occurred at 4:26 p.m. in the 6300 block of 35th Avenue Southwest, where officers determined two males had robbed the store at gunpoint, stealing cash from the register.
A tracker placed inside the stolen cash provided officers with location updates, leading them to one of the suspects. The teenage boy tried to escape on foot but was caught by police.
During the chase, police believe the boy discarded a gun, which was later found by a K9 team from the Arson/Bomb Squad. The team recovered a loaded handgun with an extended magazine from nearby foliage.
Officers also recovered $1,523 in stolen cash.
Shortly after the arrest, the Federal Way Police Department contacted Seattle police, confirming that two suspects matching similar descriptions had robbed another Walgreens pharmacy about an hour earlier in Federal Way. The Federal Way police found probable cause for charges against the teen for his involvement in the previous robbery.
The boy was booked into juvenile detention at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children & Family Justice Center on multiple charges. The second suspect remains at large, and the investigation is ongoing, assigned to the Robbery Unit.
Authorities urge anyone with information to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are accepted.
The GPS tracker embedded in cash registers or money stacks represents a increasingly common loss prevention tool that allows police to track stolen money in real time, dramatically improving apprehension rates for robbery suspects who previously escaped by fleeing the immediate area.
The loaded handgun with extended magazine recovered near the suspect indicates a weapon configured for enhanced capacity beyond standard factory specifications, potentially allowing 20-30 rounds rather than typical 10-17 round magazines, raising questions about the firearm’s origins and intended use.
The teen’s alleged involvement in two separate Walgreens robberies within an hour, one in Federal Way at approximately 3:26 p.m. and the West Seattle location at 4:26 p.m., suggests a deliberate pattern of targeting the same pharmacy chain, possibly due to perceived vulnerabilities in security protocols or cash handling procedures.
The 35th Avenue Southwest location in West Seattle places the robbery in a commercial corridor with residential neighborhoods nearby, where the suspect’s foot chase and gun disposal likely occurred in areas frequented by families and pedestrians during late afternoon hours.
The second suspect’s continued freedom creates ongoing public safety concerns, particularly if the individual retains access to weapons and continues targeting retail establishments for armed robbery.
Juvenile detention at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children & Family Justice Center reflects Washington’s approach to prosecuting serious crimes by minors, where youth face consequences through the juvenile justice system rather than adult court, though certain violent felonies can result in decline hearings that transfer cases to adult court.
The Arson/Bomb Squad’s K9 team deployment for weapon recovery demonstrates specialized resources available to Seattle police beyond standard patrol officers, with trained dogs capable of detecting firearms, explosives, and other evidence that human searchers might miss in dense vegetation.
