Suspect says he was high, coaxed into stealing tablet from woman in wheelchair
In this screen grab from the surveillance video, a suspect in a red shirt steals a tablet computer from the tray of the woman's wheelchair.
SEATTLE -- Seattle robbery detectives say the 17-year-old accused of stealing a wheelchair-bound woman's tablet at Northgate Mall was high and not in his right mind.
Police arrested the teen on Tuesday after several tipsters, including Q13 FOX News and Washington’s Most Wanted viewers, identified him.
The suspect appeared angry and showed no remorse during his first appearance Wednesday in King County Juvenile Court.
Q13 FOX is not naming the suspect because he is a minor.
He has several other drug cases pending and his family told the judge they have been trying to get him into treatment.
Carolyn, the victim in the case, has been living with Cerebral Palsy her whole life. She and her husband were enjoying an afternoon huddling together when the thief ran up and grabbed her Nook.
"First I was really shocked because I was like oh my gosh, he just took my tablet," said Carolyn.
The suspect told detectives he was coaxed into stealing it by the other guy seen with him on the video.
"I think anybody who was an easy target and they thought oh, no one's here and she can't fight back, so we'll just take it from her,” she said.
When detectives searched the teen’s home in south Seattle, they found the unique gray and red athletic shoes he was wearing at the time of the theft.
"I forgive you and I'm not holding anger towards you, but you did this to me because you thought you could get away with it and you messed with the wrong person, " Carolyn said. "I may be forgiving, but I'm not gonna lie down and take it when people do stuff like that to me, so I hope they would think twice before they would do this to anyone else."
It's something for the teen to think about in jail while prosecutors decide whether to charge him with theft.
Carolyn is just grateful to all of the people who called Crime Stoppers to help detectives solve her case.
“It's really easy to feel when something like this happens, it's really easy to still be afraid, be worried about people and now I know that there are still lots of good people around me and that makes me feel happy."
If you have any information on the second suspect’s identity, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. There is a cash reward for his name.
