West Seattle Crime Watch: Student robbed in Admiral area

2:05 PM: While we haven’t been able to get full details from Seattle Police yet, we wanted to tell you what we do know about this, given where it happened: SPD is investigating a strong-arm street robbery reported just before 10 this morning at California/Hanford [map]. The robber took the victim’s backpack. While the location is just south of West Seattle High School, we do NOT know if the victim was, or was not, a student; because the report isn’t in the system yet, SPD media relations didn’t have access to details such as the victim’s age. The only descriptive information in the system so far regarding the robber is: A Hispanic man in his 30s, 6 feet tall, wearing jeans. When we find out more, we’ll add it here.

4:09 PM: SPD has added one more detail so far – the victim is a 13-year-old girl.

Chris June 2, 2015 (4:04 pm)

Does a strong arm robbery mean that he had a gun?

WSB June 2, 2015 (4:09 pm)

No. A strongarm robbery means the robber was NOT armed – basically, that they overpowered the victim in some weaponless kind of way.

Brian June 2, 2015 (4:45 pm)

“Strong Arm Robbery” is when someone is robbed of property under the implicit threat of violence but without actually being assaulted.

newnative June 2, 2015 (4:50 pm)

13 year old WSHS student was robbed during school hours off campus? I am having a hard time figuring this one.

WSB June 2, 2015 (4:51 pm)

I don’t know where she is a student. It happened *near* WSHS. 13 is generally too young to be a high-school student.

Elisa June 2, 2015 (5:26 pm)

maybe a Madison student? AGAIN?

dsa June 2, 2015 (5:36 pm)

30 yo victimizes a 13 yo. I hope he has warrants good enough to put him away for a long time when they catch him.

Eric June 2, 2015 (5:56 pm)

Wow, what a cowardly P.O.S to do that to a 13 year old girl!!

clulessinws June 2, 2015 (6:47 pm)

I’m tired of kids being robbed in this area! Madison had a student safety PTA meeting a few months ago (covered by WSB) with MR Solomon from the SPD community policing team. He talked about how SPD was going to increase patrols but I haven’t seen it and I’m at Madison and Schmitz in the mornings and sometimes in the afternoon. At least 2 incidents have been reported on this blog since the safety meeting meeting. Police and SDOT were also supposed to make a presence at Madison in the mornings to catch speeders, stop sign runners and look at ways to route traffic more safely. Nothing has been communicated to parents except to say be careful driving. Yeah that’s going to fix it. To this lay person, it appears a lot of lip service is being given. I hope I’m wrong.

Oakley34 June 2, 2015 (7:42 pm)

SPD can’t be everywhere, especially when some of the perps are so brazen (right on California at 10am). Kids should make themselves less inviting targets and travel in groups.
Kinda sick though…when I was a kid at least we were robbed by people near our own age…

clulessinws June 2, 2015 (8:07 pm)

I agree police have a tough job but SPD knows the other incidents happened at the same time and close to the same place on CA Ave. I guess for me, don’t say your going to do something if you are not. I’m into accountability. And yeah, I agree that at least it was kid on kid incidents in our day. These last few years, it has been adult on minor from Sealth to Lafayette.

KT June 2, 2015 (9:20 pm)

If you can dedicate a car and officer to ticketing speeders on the Spokane St viaduct then you sure can increase your presence around schools. Now however, was this school related at 10am near California & Hanford involving a 13 yr old girl?

Mama June 2, 2015 (10:21 pm)

I live near the location which this occurred and travel around the area between schools rarely have I seen any sort of police presence. There doesn’t seem to be any police patrol.

joel June 2, 2015 (10:34 pm)

the problem is the chances are rather high that the police have arrested this person numerous times before and the courts keep letting him out.

Kevin June 3, 2015 (10:07 am)

Crime is starting to get out of hand and here in Seattle the criminals have more rights than the victims.

WestSide45 June 3, 2015 (2:27 pm)

The city makes money when they ticket speeders (and the speeders pay the fines). Having an area patrolled with no possibility of financial gain is not in the cards. Let’s have the kids in the schools where they belong at 10:00 am, then the robber will have to choose his target with a bit more forethought.

Robert June 3, 2015 (4:20 pm)

the problem now is the perp beats the cop back out on the street.. in my day if you did this to a kid, IF YOU SURVIVED THE ELEVATOR RIDE TO THE JAIL you sure wouldn’t try it again…

Madison mom June 3, 2015 (10:01 pm)

This doesn’t make sense. I doubt the victim was a 13 year old student if this happened right before 10am, when students are in class. I look forward to hearing more details…

WSB June 3, 2015 (10:15 pm)

I asked SPD today and the report still wasn’t available. There have been past incidents in which young people were out of class at times you’d think they’d be in; arriving late, or …

Kathy June 4, 2015 (1:33 am)

I hope the victim wasn’t physically hurt but undoubtedly she was traumatized. I may be accused of jacking the thread, but youths and women of all ages can lessen their likelihood of being preyed upon by a stronger assailant by not appearing vulnerable or an easy target and by leaving themselves an avenue of escape. Reading about these attacks on kids, I can’t help thinking that if more kids felt safe enough biking and were encouraged to use a bicycle for getting around their neighborhood and to and from school, they could at least get quickly away if they were approached by someone who looked threatening, and it might be less likely that they would be pursued. This was my strategy when I was attending evening meetings downtown – I always took my bike on the bus, even if I didn’t intend to ride very far. In my bike gear waiting on at a bus stop in Pioneer Square at 9 PM I felt I could quickly ride away to a safer place if I noticed someone suspicious approaching.

John June 5, 2015 (12:55 am)

More rights? You mean the constitutional rights we all have, criminals and law abiding alike? I’m all for putting offenders in prison without abrogating our constitutionally protected rights. You want harsher sentences? Talk to the legislature, not the courts.