Bellevue police say the teen who robbed an elderly woman outside of a grocery store is now behind bars.
Using her daughter and son-in-law to interpret, Hwa Soon Yi told KIRO 7 that she was “frightened out of her mind” when she said someone grabbed her purse and threw her to the ground.
Yi’s family tells KIRO 7 she went to the hospital with a broken back after the robbery.
“She’s still recovering, it’s a long road ahead,” her son-in-law Aaron Lee explained.
“She is saying she’s very upset with the perpetrators and those people attacking her and targeting the elderly,” Lee said.
Police say they arrested 18-year-old Madden McGraw earlier this week in connection with crimes, including that “strong-armed robbery” of Soon Yi.
In a release, Bellevue police said they found stolen credit cards, more than 30 sets of stolen keys, stolen guns, and law enforcement equipment inside his home during the arrest. KIRO 7 asked how the teen got the police equipment, to which police said they responded saying that is a part of their ongoing investigation.
In their release, police said about the evidence they found, “This included materials belonging to multiple elderly female victims. The totality of evidence suggested Madden McGraw worked with others to target vulnerable individuals – particularly elderly women – and conduct these crimes.”
They went on to say he was arrested for Robbery of the 1st Degree (One Count), Theft of Firearm (One Count), Identity Theft of the 2nd Degree (Two Counts), Unlawful Possession of a Firearm of the 2nd Degree (Five Counts),
Possession of Stolen Property of the 2nd Degree (Eight Counts.)
Court documents call McGraw “an obvious danger to the community” saying he had a “small arsenal of stolen weapons in his residence.”
Police say their investigators also connected McGraw to an assault involving a firearm on the same day of the robbery.
Yi says she is relieved he’s behind bars.
“She’s super thankful for law enforcement involved in this,” Yi’s family said.
According to police, McGraw is being held on $250,000 bail.