Teen purse snatchers taped in the act fess up
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Three teenage girls who were caught on surveillance camera snatching a purse in a dimly-lit garage have turned themselves in.
Police hoped camera pictures and some publicity might be enough to catch a crook. They hadn't expected all three suspects would show up with their parents, saying, in effect, "here we are."
Because the three girls are juveniles - one 17 and two 16, KOMO 4 News has decided to electronically smear their pictures.
But KOMO 4 did not cover their faces when the original story containing the surveillance footage ran on Tuesday night. And the pictures were sharp enough to result in a flurry of phone calls.
"Yes, thanks to the media attention and the public's help all three suspects in Friday's purse snatch have been arrested," said Shannon Sessions with the Lynnwood Police Department.
It all began in a parking lot at Alderwood Mall. The three suspects may have thought since the garage is so dark, no one will see much. They may have thought no one will see squat. Wrong.
There are cameras at Alderwood Mall - we won't tell you exactly where, but there are quite a few. Management officials say not only will you wind up on candid camera if you do something illegal, but they'll also share that video with the police, the media and the world, if necessary.
The surveillance video from the Alderwood Mall is good enough to identify the getaway vehicle as a Gold Saturn. Augmented, it might show a license plate.
The three suspects allegedly then went to Wal-Mart, apparently ready to use the stolen credit cards. At their peril, they ignored the huge warning signs in the parking lot.
These are good cameras. Sharp enough to catch a smiley face grin on a Wal-Mart T-shirt. And the faces, clothes, earrings of three teenage suspects.
There were recognized by friends and, more significantly, their parents.
"What eventually happened was all three parents of all three girls brought the girls in and they surrendered," Sessions said.
Police hoped camera pictures and some publicity might be enough to catch a crook. They hadn't expected all three suspects would show up with their parents, saying, in effect, "here we are."
Because the three girls are juveniles - one 17 and two 16, KOMO 4 News has decided to electronically smear their pictures.
But KOMO 4 did not cover their faces when the original story containing the surveillance footage ran on Tuesday night. And the pictures were sharp enough to result in a flurry of phone calls.
"Yes, thanks to the media attention and the public's help all three suspects in Friday's purse snatch have been arrested," said Shannon Sessions with the Lynnwood Police Department.
It all began in a parking lot at Alderwood Mall. The three suspects may have thought since the garage is so dark, no one will see much. They may have thought no one will see squat. Wrong.
There are cameras at Alderwood Mall - we won't tell you exactly where, but there are quite a few. Management officials say not only will you wind up on candid camera if you do something illegal, but they'll also share that video with the police, the media and the world, if necessary.
The surveillance video from the Alderwood Mall is good enough to identify the getaway vehicle as a Gold Saturn. Augmented, it might show a license plate.
The three suspects allegedly then went to Wal-Mart, apparently ready to use the stolen credit cards. At their peril, they ignored the huge warning signs in the parking lot.
These are good cameras. Sharp enough to catch a smiley face grin on a Wal-Mart T-shirt. And the faces, clothes, earrings of three teenage suspects.
There were recognized by friends and, more significantly, their parents.
"What eventually happened was all three parents of all three girls brought the girls in and they surrendered," Sessions said.
