A 17-year-old Redmond resident faces kidnapping and robbery charges after allegedly using a popular street racing social media account to lure and torture a victim suspected of providing information to police about illegal racing activities.
Anton Victorovich Urnyshev was arrested by a SWAT team on August 20 following an investigation into the “seattlebeamerboys” Instagram account, which had posted months of videos showing drivers taunting officers and engaging in reckless driving across King County.
According to charges filed in adult court due to Washington’s serious violent offense laws, Urnyshev used the group’s Instagram account to contact a teenage victim in May, requesting he film a promotional video using his vehicle at Kelsey Creek Park on 130th Place Southeast.
The account told the victim that participants would wear ski masks to maintain anonymity during filming. However, when the victim arrived, Urnyshev and another suspect allegedly forced him into a car at gunpoint, demanding his wallet whilst asking whether he was a police officer or “snitch.”
The suspects threatened to “put his body in a ditch” if he refused to provide his debit card PIN, according to police reports. They then drove to ATMs in Issaquah where they withdrew thousands of dollars before abandoning the victim in a rural area east of North Bend.
The victim walked 30 minutes through woods before finding someone to call 911. After reuniting with family, he showed police Instagram messages with the “seattlebeamerboys” account arranging the park meeting. Multiple search warrants placed Urnyshev’s mobile phone at all locations associated with the crimes.
At the time of arrest, Urnyshev was on court-based diversion for a hate crime case involving vandalism at a Mercer Island school with racist and antisemitic markings. A detective noted his escalating behaviour pattern in arrest reports.
“This kidnapping arrest stemmed from Urnyshev attempting to identify a ‘snitch’ who was providing information about illegal street racing to police,” investigators wrote.
Between the May kidnapping and August arrest, Urnyshev was charged in June after crashing a stolen BMW in Sammamish. Police reports indicate he stole the vehicle from a residential garage and fled on foot following the crash.
Investigators also linked Urnyshev to online doxxing of his ex-girlfriend’s relative and a “swatting” incident involving false emergency reports. Chat logs from the “seattlebeamerboys” account discussed “setting up a snitch” and warned about police investigation following the incident.
“A lot of s*** went down but basically bro got left in some abandoned ass place,” the account posted. “Now we got (expletive) texting about and cops will def investigate so im deleting everything.”
Prosecutors requested $300,000 bail, citing planning sophistication, pending investigations, and prior diversion concerns. Urnyshev is scheduled for arraignment on September 4.
“Given the planning and sophistication, along with the pending investigations and prior diversion, the State has serious concerns for the safety of the community,” prosecutors stated in charging documents.
The case highlights law enforcement challenges in monitoring illegal street racing networks that use social media to coordinate activities and intimidate potential witnesses.
