Robbers rough up Montlake teen, take her phone
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SEATTLE -- Tully Sandbom lives with her great aunt in a sleepy part of Montlake.
But a sunny Saturday changed the 19-year-old's opinion about the neighborhood.
She saw a truck with four men inside driving around her neighborhood. She was sitting out on the porch looking at her phone when she says one of them ran up to her and snatched her phone, then got into a scuffle with her.
"He ended up taking me to the ground. I tried to fight him off. Kicked him a couple times but it came to a point where it wasn't about the phone anymore. It just became -- I want this man off of me," Sandbom said.
The men didn't hurt her or try to touch her. They just wanted the phone. The entire family was inside, just feet away. The crime was so quick, no one knew it happened except for Sandbom.
"We did not hear anything until she really started to scream and came running up the stairs," said Sandbom's great-aunt Anita Bowers.
Police say these sorts of crimes continue to happen because we are all so engrossed with our phones. Criminals know that.
"They're based on surprise, distance and timing," said Detective Jeff Kappel with Seattle police.
Sandbom did file a police report and tried to track the iPhone online, but the thieves turned it off. She didn't get a good look at the license plate either because the group of men had covered it in dirt.
SPD continues to investigate the case.
But a sunny Saturday changed the 19-year-old's opinion about the neighborhood.
She saw a truck with four men inside driving around her neighborhood. She was sitting out on the porch looking at her phone when she says one of them ran up to her and snatched her phone, then got into a scuffle with her.
"He ended up taking me to the ground. I tried to fight him off. Kicked him a couple times but it came to a point where it wasn't about the phone anymore. It just became -- I want this man off of me," Sandbom said.
The men didn't hurt her or try to touch her. They just wanted the phone. The entire family was inside, just feet away. The crime was so quick, no one knew it happened except for Sandbom.
"We did not hear anything until she really started to scream and came running up the stairs," said Sandbom's great-aunt Anita Bowers.
Police say these sorts of crimes continue to happen because we are all so engrossed with our phones. Criminals know that.
"They're based on surprise, distance and timing," said Detective Jeff Kappel with Seattle police.
Sandbom did file a police report and tried to track the iPhone online, but the thieves turned it off. She didn't get a good look at the license plate either because the group of men had covered it in dirt.
SPD continues to investigate the case.
Criminals know well that the "weakest in the herd" are looking at their phones & Ipads, oblivious to all around them.
Can you say attention seeking behavior...
Great story, sigh. Since I live less than a mile from her, I'll be on the lookout for some men in a car with a dirty license plate. Thanks for giving me all the necessary information to feel safe.  Â
Two words; Conceal Carry
It's your right
I can't believe that a stupid iPhone is so valuable that a group of four low lifes would waste that much time and GAS driving around looking for somebody with one on a Sunday. My advice to smart phone owners...get the insurance. If they want my phone they can have it. T-Mobile buys me a new one.
Dang it.. now I can't get CCR's "Looking out my backdoor" outa my head.....
"Â Police say these sorts of crimes continue to happen because we are all so engrossed with our phones. Criminals know that."
And yet, it just gets worse. Â People are addicted to these devices.
Two words: Situational Awareness.
Get some.Â
Doesn't add up. How could they "rough up" this girl without touching her? Sounds like she got into a fight with one of them.
Just some friendly advice for this young woman: Secure your Facebook page! Now I know where she lives, what school she goes to, who her friends are, where she went to high school, what she likes to do... and the criminals and creepers know it too.
@Illuminati You sound like the creeper that has too much time on their hands.  Why look up crime victims?Â
@IlluminatiBut then again, you might want to ask yourself why you take the time to look up personal details on crime victims you've never met and what, if anything, you intend to do with this information.
@StringerJoe @Illuminati Lighten up. I've seen many posters on here do the same numerous times.
@StringerJoe Her story sounded unbelievable so I wanted to see if she was at least a little bit credible. Her Facebook page seemed like the most obvious thing to check first.
@Illuminati Good advice! That is creepy to know everyone can just look it all up because kids are so naive.
Something odd about this story. Did the police get a description of the alleged thief? I can see a snatch and grab but to go onto someone's property when others may be at home? Odd...
Should these caddish miscreants try to steal Mr. Mylon's Blackberry Pearl, I will let them...
@Getov MylonÂ
I have to agree, it's pretty bold to go right up to someones porch in full daylight with other people just a few feet away and snatch a phone off someone, yep odd indeed.
@Getov MylonÂ
"She didn't get a good look at the license plate either, because the group of men covered it in dirt" how astute to notice that as she was on the ground with this guy on top of her, well ok, just sounds strange.
@Getov Mylon
Thinking the same thing, she wanted a new phone, she evidently saw these men driving around in the neighbor hood, probably knew them, one would think someone a few feet away would have heard her wrestling with this man on the porch, yard, no screamin, yelling, until she started up the stairs in the house? sorry, this whole thing doesn't sound on the up and up, were there no neighbors to see what was going on? I think I would notice if one of my neighbors was wrestling with someone in the yard....I don't know, just speculation on my part, but there sure are a lot of holes in her telling of these events.
@Sandman @Getov Mylon Yeah, I'm about ready to pull a yellow BS card. Sounds like she either lost the phone, broke it or hid it so she could get a new one without her parents (or great-aunt??) getting mad and didn't think of the consequences for her story.Â
The headline as it reads right now, "Robbers rough up Montlake teen, taker her phone."Â
They taker her phone!
@Tattooed_Angel2Â Haha! Â Too bad they finally fixed it, that's funny.
@Tattooed_Angel26 Hours later and it still says that.
@Tattooed_Angel2Â They can has phone?!
Another heart-warming story out of our fair city.
The cell phone manufacturer could largely end this by having a program to render the phone completely,/permanently inoperable at the request of the rightful owner. How does Apple really feel about their customers?????
@Citizen#3457899654Â Apple provides a built-in app to track the phone. Â It also allows the user to wipe the phone remotely. Â And if she opted to use the password/PIN login, that would also help render the phone essentially useless. Â Apple provides several options for their customers to protect themselves.