Officers arrested five juveniles who were allegedly involved in a string of armed assaults and robberies in Thurston County on Aug. 30, according to the Lacey Police Department.
Lacey officers located the quintet after connecting multiple crime reports across the community, Lacey police shared in a Facebook post.
One of the juveniles is a Lacey resident and the remaining four came from King County, the post says. They were reportedly booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.
"This could have ended very differently, and we are glad that nobody was physically injured, though we are sure they are quite shaken up," the post says.
Lacey police initially responded to a weapons violation call at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 30 with the Thurston County Sheriff's Office. The caller reported three males shot at a vehicle on Mullen Road and then ran towards city limits, according to the post.
Law enforcement did not locate any suspects at the scene, but the post says deputies found bullet casings in the area.
Another caller reported four males firing shots and fleeing in a blue SUV on 18th Avenue Northeast in Olympia a short while later, the post says.
Officers noticed that the descriptions for the SUV and the suspects allegedly matched details from an Aug. 28 robbery that Olympia police were investigating.
Lacey police identified the vehicle with help from Olympia police, but the post says they did not find the vehicle at the owner's address.
Dispatch then notified officers about a reported robbery after 6 p.m. at 10th Avenue and Golf Club Road Southeast in Lacey.
Three juveniles alleged they were approached by 4-5 males with handguns who demanded their backpacks and then fled in a blue SUV, according to the post.
The owner of the vehicle, a Lacey resident, reportedly told police his 16-year-old son was driving the vehicle and his cell phone indicated he was at the Regional Athletic Complex (RAC) off Marvin and Steilacoom roads.
At the RAC, the post says a parent flagged officers to report that three juveniles had just been robbed at gunpoint. Lacey police believe the suspects matched the description of the suspects in the previous incidents.
A Lacey officer later located four of the juveniles walking on Steilacoom Road and took them into custody "without incident," according to the post. The officer allegedly recovered a handgun from them as well.
Another Lacey officer found the fifth juvenile in a vehicle at Marvin and Mullen roads. The post indicates the juvenile was taken into custody after a "high-risk stop."
Lacey police described the incidents as part of an upward trend in juvenile crime. Juvenile arrests increased from 6,235 in 2022 to 7,730 in 2023, according to an annual report from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
"You may have noticed an increase in juvenile crime statewide," the post says. "We ask that you stay vigilant in locking your doors (home and car), make sure your firearms are appropriately locked up, and of course, know where your children are, and who they are with."
Anyone who may have been a victim of similar crimes can call the Lacey Police Department non-emergency dispatch line at 360-704-2740.
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