Federal Way community on lookout for suspect in assault, robbery of teenage girl

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – A community is on the lookout after a teen girl was attacked and robbed in her own neighborhood.

Wednesday night, Q13 News asked Federal Way Police about the case as investigators look for the suspect.



A casual game of Pokemon Go sends Verree out in her Federal Way neighborhood.

“I do stop and make sure that I’m aware of my surroundings,” said Verree.

Having been robbed before, Verree says her neighbors are always on the lookout.

“We all do neighborhood watches and really all do try to lookout for our neighbors,” said Verree.

Dozens of her neighbors showed up Wednesday night for a city-sponsored community meeting to hear about recent crime trends as many still remember what happened to a 17-year-old girl last Thursday morning.

“He came from behind and he punched me in my head. And then when he flew forward he kind of stopped and we weren’t really too far from each other, but he came forward and he started punching me in my head again,” said the the 17-year-old girl who asked Q13 News to keep her identity hidden.

After hitting her in the head, the teenager said, the man stole her cellphone.

“Be aware of your surroundings, who’s around you and not be so absorbed in what you’re doing that it diverts your attention to the fact that somebody can attack you,” said Federal Way Police Deputy Chief Steve Neal.

Since the mugging, the victim’s dad says more neighbors are coming forward with information, including one who gave him this surveillance video.

“My emotions went through the roof on how it appeared that someone followed her by the time she left our home and then you see a vehicle come into play,” said the victim’s father, Michael Walker.

“It’s pretty obvious that this person has a good long stride and knows exactly what they’re doing,” said Neal.

Federal Way Police say the suspect will likely do it again, which means more people could be mugged.

“They commit the same crimes over and over again until the time that they’re caught,” said Neal.

The Decatur High School community meeting actually showed that crime is down in that neighborhood, but police say that doesn’t mean let your guard down.  If you have any information about the suspect, call Federal Way Police.