Five teenagers arrested in Washington County, Ore., on suspicion of multiple charges also traveled to Vancouver during their alleged crime spree, authorities say.
Officers arrested Jamal Osman of Auburn and Kassim Ahmed of Seattle, both 19, and three juveniles ages 17, 15 and 14 on Tuesday, according to a Beaverton, Ore., Police Department news release.
Police responded at 1:52 a.m. to WinCo Foods at 3205 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd. in Beaverton after several people reportedly stole beer and left in a black Audi, the news release states. Officers spotted the vehicle on Highway 217 in Oregon, but the driver eluded them.
Later that morning, around 11:15 a.m., police responded to Costco at 15901 S.W. Jenkins Road in Beaverton. Someone forcibly snatched a purse from a woman’s hands as she sat in her vehicle, police said. The robbery suspects fled in a black Audi, which police believed to be the same car associated with the WinCo theft, according to the news release.
Detectives located the vehicle moments later; it had pulled into the Beaverton Town Square Fred Meyer parking lot. The car’s position suggested that whomever was inside planned to carry out more crimes, police said.
Three of the car’s occupants were taken into custody and two others were apprehended inside Fred Meyer, police said.
Officers learned that the vehicle had been stolen at gunpoint Sunday in Tukwila. A black replica firearm was found in the Audi, police said.
“These same suspects, using the same vehicle, are believed to have committed … vehicle prowl in the second degree and theft from a vehicle in the second degree in Vancouver,” the news release says. The group is also suspected of harassment and unlawful entry into a vehicle in Tigard, Ore., and robbery in Tualatin, Ore.
The police department said it’s working with law enforcement in all of the communities to investigate the teens’ alleged crimes, which include robbery, identity theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. Osman faces charges of possession and unlawful use of a stolen vehicle.
