Police arrest man suspected in brutal beating of Seattle's 'King Donuts' founders



SEATTLE -- Seattle police detectives arrested man Tuesday who they believe is a suspect in a violent robbery at a Rainier Beach doughnut shop in January.

The 21-year-old man led U.S. marshals and  Seattle police on a brief chase at about 12:30 p.m. after they tried to arrest him for several felony warrants.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force spotted the man Tuesday near 12th Avenue and Jackson Street and chased him to an accounting office at 12th and Main Street. The man slipped into a crawlspace beneath the business and refused to come out.

Police officers joined marshals at the scene and called in negotiators, SWAT officers, and K-9 units, who spent two and a half hours trying to coax the man out of his hiding place.

SWAT officers entered the crawlspace and took the man into custody shortly after 3 p.m., police said.



Detectives plan to book the man on a Department of Corrections warrant and are still investigating his connection to the doughnut shop robbery.

Detectives believe the man is a suspect in the Jan. 3 beating and robbery at Rainier Beach’s King Donuts, which left the shop’s owners severely injured.

Q13 FOX NEWS STORY FROM JAN. 8 ON BEATING, ROBBERY IS BELOW:



It's been almost a week since Chea Pol and her husband, Heng Hay, were attacked and robbed outside King Donuts, the shop they founded in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood 28 years ago.

It's heartbreaking to see the bruises on her face. They're healing but she faces more surgery to repair the damage when a thief punched her over and over again.

"Now I sound funny because he hit me, my teeth all pushed in, bleeding in my mouth, my face is swollen like this," said Pol.

She moved to Seattle to escape genocide in Cambodia. Though bruised, her spirit is strong. When first-responders tried to get her to go to the hospital, she balked. "They say you get in the ambulance, I say no, no. I want to go get the guy."

The thief stole her iPhone and iPad that didn't have tracking software on it. He also stole her purse with cash in it as a diamond pendant. He ran off toward the gas station at the Safeway next door. It's possible he got into a car with someone.

Davie Hay and her sister bought the shop from their parents. She showed us all of the flowers and cards they've gotten from customers.

"This one says King Donuts, hope you get well soon. We are praying for you. Jenn and Brian and Cory, you guys are the best," said Hay.

A gofundme page has raised more than $20,000 of their 30k goal.  http://www.gofundme.com/jn6spg

"With the outrage this community has right now regarding this crime, I think that's gonna help us out big-time because we don't have any video footage, we don't have any leads, we don't have anything."

What they do have is a lot of people who want to see Chea Pol's attacker caught.

When he is, she has one question for him. "I want to say to him, why he did that to me, you know?"

The suspect is a young black man, 5'5" to 5"7.  If you know of anyone who matches that description who suddenly came into a bunch of cash with no explanation or you spot the diamond pendant that was stolen, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-tips.

It's anonymous and nobody will know your name. There is a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.