Suspects arrested in South Seattle home invasions face hate crime charges

SEATTLE — Five suspects who were allegedly terrorizing South Seattle in a string of robberies since June are now behind bars.

They face charges ranging from robbery in the first degree, to hate crimes. Seattle police say that most of the home invasions felt targeted toward Asian Americans.

Four of the five suspects made their first appearance in front of a judge at the King County Jail.

The 16-year-old suspect was in court at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center Thursday afternoon.

Although the suspects haven’t been formally charged just yet, the court found probable cause for hate crime counts against three of them.

“We have to make sure that we work with the prosecutor’s office to make sure we meet all of those elements, and they feel confident moving them in that case going forward. But that is one of the things we are looking at charging them with, potentially a hate crime,” said Chief Diaz.

Bails have been set at over $1 million dollars for each of the adult suspects. There is no bail in juvenile court.

Even with these arrests, Seattle police are still looking for any other people involved.

Anyone with any new information is asked to contact police.

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