The two suspects who allegedly robbed the Ravensdale Market on Jan. 27 didn’t exactly plan it out like “The Italian Job.”
The two males first tried to throw a cinderblock against the front door in the hopes it would smash the glass. When it merely bounced off they proceeded to kick and body-slam the door for more than 20 seconds until they were finally able to break in. They had no bags to carry their stolen goods, only what they could carry in their hands.
Although they wore beanies and covered their heads with their hoods as they broke in, they appeared to be completely unaware that they were being videotaped the whole time by security cameras, as they stole around $200 worth of beer cigarettes.
Eugene Kim, the owner of the Ravensdale Market, said he got a call from the security company employee who told him there had been a break in. It was the fourth time in seven years his store had been robbed.
Rather than merely turn the videos over to the police, however, Kim decided to take advantage of social media and get wider exposure of the crime.
“I’ve got to catch them somehow,” Kim said. “If I can get it online, maybe somebody can recognize them.”
The same day as the robbery occurred, he combined all the security footage into a single video and posted it on YouTube, hoping someone in the community would be able to identify the robbers.
In the video, sections are slowed down which provide a close look at one of the suspects, with text giving a description of his appearance. It garnered tens of thousand of views and outraged comments by viewers.
“It takes a special kind of (expletive) to do a break in like this,” one viewer commented.
The King County Sheriff’s Office also received dozens of tips, according to spokesperson Cindi West, which ultimately led to the arrest of a 17-year-old Tahoma student three days later.
The other suspect, however, remains at large and the investigation is ongoing.
“I would say we have an idea of who he is,” West said.
The Youtube video can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slo0tLVMaKE.
