Five teens arrested for Ballard robbery, leading police on chase

Seattle police arrested five teen boys for an alleged robbery of a man in Ballard and fleeing to The Commons Mall in Federal Way.

Around 12 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to an assault and robbery at the 6500 block of 15th Avenue NW, where they found a man with minor injuries. He reported the suspects had taken his cell phone, backpack, and other items. The suspects reportedly fled the scene in two stolen vehicles, according to police.

Officers tried to stop the teens in Victory Heights, but the suspects were able to get away.

A helicopter tracked one of their vehicles, a red Kia southbound on Interstate 5 into Federal Way, and eventually parked at The Commons Mall. Officers from city and state agencies worked together to secure the mall and notify businesses in the area.

Police pursued the suspects on foot and were able to take all five into custody without incident.

The five suspects were later booked into the King County Child and Family Justice Center for robbery.

Detectives with the General Investigations Unit are now investigating whether this group of teen suspects may also be connected to other incidents in Seattle, including cases involving stolen vehicles, car prowls, and armed robbery.

Police investigating body discovered at south end of Lake Union

Pierce County partygoers wrestle away gun in shooting

Pierce County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) deputies say that a group of partygoers wrestled a gun away from a suspect after he fired a shot at a man.

Just before 10 p.m. Thursday, deputies responded to a report of a shooting in the 100 block of 131st Street E, and when they arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound.

According to witnesses, there was an argument between the 41-year-old suspect and the 34-year-old victim, which led to a physical confrontation.

The suspect fired a shot at the victim, and several people were able to pull the gun away from the suspect.

The suspect, who lived across the street, then went home and grabbed another gun before deputies arrived, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

Responding deputies found the shooter at his home with a gun in his hand. They ordered him to put the gun on the ground, and after complying, the man was taken into custody.

Deputies helped put gauze on the man’s injury, which was minor, while they waited for paramedics to arrive on the scene. He was transported to the hospital but was cleared from the hospital a short time later.

The suspect was taken to the hospital for a minor injury that happened during the earlier fight. He was then booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of first-degree assault.

Man stabbed with rusty screwdrivers in Seattle

A man in his 20s was stabbed in the forearm with a rusty screwdriver Thursday evening.

Police were called to the 4200 block of South Chicago Street in Seattle’s Rainier Valley shortly after 5:30 p.m. and found a man in his 20s injured.

The suspect, a 36-year-old man, ran away after the attack, but police found him and took him into custody.

Seattle Fire Department medics treated the man’s injury.

Officers found a weapon, which appeared to be a rusty screwdriver, and placed it into evidence.

The man will be booked into the King County Jail on assault charges.

Prosecutor charges man in murder of South Lake Union woman

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges Thursday against a man accused of killing a woman at a South Lake Union apartment Monday.

Allister Clinton Baldwin, 46, was charged with first-degree murder for the killing of 51-year-old Ivette Wallin.

According to court documents, Seattle police officers were called to the apartment building just before 5:30 p.m. Monday after a caller told 911 dispatchers that a man in unit #611 told him he had killed a woman. The caller also told police that he had seen the woman’s body.

When officers arrived, they went to the apartment and found the door ajar with loud music coming from inside. Officers entered and found Baldwin, who complied with orders to show his hands and move toward officers.

According to documents, officers found the woman’s body and “indicated that she had suffered an extreme amount of physical trauma,” including multiple broken ribs, broken fingers, blunt force injuries to her face and forehead, and sharp force injuries to her neck and back.

With the help of the apartment building’s staff, officers identified the woman as Wallin. Police learned that Wallin lived in unit #608, on the same floor as Baldwin’s unit.

The man who initially called 911 told police in an interview that Baldwin’s demeanor was “really calm like nothing happened” when he described what happened during the incident. Another witness told police that Wallin “was dating (Baldwin) kinda, but not exclusive.”

Baldwin is a registered sex offender out of Texas and has one prior felony conviction for sexual assault of a child. He is scheduled to be arraigned at the King County Courthouse on Jan. 19.

The woman’s death was Seattle’s first homicide of 2023.