Teen suspected in Seattle tourist attack charged as adult

A teen who allegedly took part in the August attack and robbery of a group of tourists in downtown Seattle will be charged as an adult.

Romeyo Marquece Wilturner, 17, is being charged with first-degree robbery in King County Superior Court. The prosecutor has requested bail of $500,000.

Related: Dori says tourists getting robbed while mayor enjoys security on vacation

The prosecutor alleges that Wilturner was among a group of people who attacked and robbed two women and one man as they were walking past the corner of Pine Street and Third Avenue on Aug. 24. The group burned one of the women with a cigarette and stole her cell phone. The group then beat the three tourists. The man was hit over the head with a wine bottle. The confrontation began when one of the women in Wilturner’s group suggested that one of the tourists bumped into her on the sidewalk.

The three tourists sustained facial injuries and were sent to Harborview Medical Center. They were able to give detectives descriptions of the suspects and pick them out of a photo lineup.

Part of the description for Wilturner was that he was wearing a floppy camo hat and a backpack during the assault. It was the same hat he was wearing when police spotted him at the exact same corner four days later. Upon his arrest, he told detectives that he participated in the attack and had punched one of the victims once in the back.

Wilturner isn’t the only teen to be busted for violence in the past week. A teen arrested on suspicion of shooting a man in the leg escaped the King County Youth Service Center on Monday, reports The Seattle Times. The 16-year-old fled the facility into a nearby neighborhood, where he was arrested shortly after. He will be booked again on additional charges.