Seattle Police: 13-year-old robbery suspect released by mistake

A teen accused of a Seattle robbery was arrested and then later released by mistake.

The 13-year-old, according to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), robbed a 12-year-old of his bicycle with a knife while on the grounds of a local middle school in the 1900 block of First Avenue West, in Queen Anne, on Friday.

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Seattle officers were sent to the scene around 4 p.m. and developed probable cause to arrest the 13-year-old after talking with the 12-year-old and reviewing surveillance footage of the crime.

While investigating, SPD said officers found the 13-year-old’s home. A multilingual officer fluent in Brazilian Portuguese then arrived to translate.

Officers then arrested the teen and booked him into juvenile detention at the Clark Children and Family Justice Center for the investigation of the robbery.

On Saturday, around 5:30 p.m., SPD reported police were notified by staff at the justice center that they had released the young man from the juvenile detention center by mistake.

However, the department said without an arrest warrant issued by the court, officers were unable to take the 13-year-old back into custody.

SPD said detectives with the robbery unit have been assigned to the case.

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Local families have been pushing for stricter penalties against juvenile defenders after 13-year-old Jayda Woods-Johnson was shot and killed at the Alderwood Mall last July.

Woods-Johnson’s family launched an online petition urging lawmakers to enact “Jayda’s Law,” which calls for significant changes to the juvenile justice system.

Contributing: Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.