Girls accused of statewide crime spree plead not guilty
BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) — Three teenage girls have entered not guilty pleas to multiple charges stemming from what police say was a road trip across Washington.
The Seattle Times reports that two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old denied charges on Friday in juvenile court.
King County prosecutors say the girls from Spokane stole a car, robbed a woman in Bellevue for gas money and used her credit card to get their nails done.
RELATED: Three Spokane girls steal car, go on crime spree across Washington, police say
Two of the girls remain in detention and face charges that include first-degree robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle and second-degree identity theft. One 16-year-old has been released. She is charged with taking a motor vehicle without permission and two counts of second-degree identity theft.
“It was just a real odd case because it involved a trio of juvenile females,” said Bellevue police Sgt. Shelby Shearer. “We were able to catch ’em and put a stop to it … It could’ve turned out disastrous. Their crimes were very reckless, to say the least.”
Police say that on Jan. 24, a woman in Spokane reported being “rugby tackled,” having a knee pressed against her throat and her car keys pried from her hand in a parking lot near a downtown business area.
Police say the girls drove 300 miles (480 kilometers) to Seattle, arriving on Jan. 25, where they committed several robberies, a theft, and were involved in a hit-and-run.
Bellevue Police Sgt. Shelby Shearer said the girls led Mercer Island police on a chase across Interstate 90 and got away.
On Jan 26, police say, the girls knocked down a woman in a Home Depot parking lot in Bellevue and stole her purse, running over her arm as they drove away. The woman needed multiple stitches to close a wound in her arm, charging documents say.
Police say they tracked the 17-year-old to a nail salon as the girls used the victim’s credit and bank cards, and she was arrested.
“She was upset she didn’t get one of her pinkies done,” Shearer said.
The 16-year-olds, who already had their nails done, were located nearby in a grocery store.
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