Three people, including a 13-year-old boy, are in custody in connection with two armed robberies and a 25-minute police chase on Interstate 5 early Thursday morning, Tacoma police said.
The boy and a 14-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man are suspected of robbing a teriyaki restaurant and a gas station just minutes apart, police said.
At 12:32 a.m., the restaurant in the 5600 block of Portland Avenue East was robbed with a weapon, according to police. Little more than 10 minutes later, robbers hit a 76 Gas Station in the 7200 block of Canyon Road East.
"They think that it's draining resources to one location for one robbery and hitting another one quickly thereafter thinking that everybody will be at that other location," said Tacoma Police Department spokesperson, Shelbie Boyd. "It shows, that's not the case."
Shortly after leaving the gas station, police spotted the alleged robbers driving near 72nd Street and Portland Avenue and began a 25-minute chase on Interstate 5. Tacoma police, Lakewood police, Washington State Patrol and the Pierce County Sheriff's Department helped to hunt down the suspects.
Their getaway car was stolen, police said.
The chase ended near Gravelly Lake Drive after police used a spike strip to blow the car's tires out. The suspects then got out and ran. After a few minutes, police had the 13 and 19-year-old in custody. A K-9 unit was deployed to chase down the third.
All three face charges of first-degree armed robbery and other crimes.
