Four youths have been charged with robbery as Metro Transit Police continue to investigate the beating of a 15-year-old girl in the transit tunnel at Westlake Center.
As surveillance cameras rolled, three unarmed security guards stood by during the Jan. 28 assault. The guards, who are trained not to get involved in physical confrontations, stood by as the girl was beaten, kicked and robbed.
On Wednesday, prosecutors filed first-degree robbery charges in King County Superior Court against Latroy Demarcus Hayman, 20, Tyrone Jamez Watson, 18, and Dominique Lee Whitaker, 18. A 15-year-old girl was also charged in juvenile court,
Investigators believe the assault followed incidents at both Macy's and Nordstrom, where a group of teenagers and young adults created a disturbance, according to a statement from the King County Sheriff's Office, which operates the Metro Transit Police.
Describing the incident to King County sheriff's detectives, the 15-year-old girl who was attacked said her assailants confronted her in Macy's, according to charging documents.
Egged on by Whitaker and others, the female suspect in the attack threatened the girl repeatedly, the victim told detectives. Seattle police officers interceded, forcing both the girl and the group that had confronted her outside the store.
The girl told detectives she was immediately confronted by the female suspect after stepping onto Third Avenue outside the downtown Macy's. She rushed back into the store, she said, where she again encountered the Seattle officers who'd ejected her moments before.
"I asked them to take me to the tunnel and they said they couldn't because they didn't have time for kids who started trouble," the girl told sheriff's detectives.
The officers eventually led the other group away, and the girl went to the transit tunnel to wait for her bus home. While she waited, her assailants returned, she said, and the other girl attacked her.
The 15-year-old girl who was with the large group attacked the victim from behind on the station platform. The victim was shoved into the right of way, then knocked to the ground and kicked in the head.
In addition to being beaten, prosecutors claim she was robbed; her purse, book bag, cellphone and iPod were stolen.
Security officers saw the assault, but didn't stop it. The suspects fled by the time Seattle police officers responded.
The Sheriff's Office gave this explanation for the guards' inaction:
"They did not intercede as they are unarmed, civilian employees of Olympic Security Services. They are trained to not become involved in violent confrontations or fights, but are directed to call 911, which they did via the tunnel communications center.
"In addition, they were significantly outnumbered by the group."
Speaking with detectives, the girl said she'd expected the guards to come to her aid.
"I thought the security guards would defend me if (the 15-year-old) tried anything," the girl said, according to court documents.
Following the attack, the girl said the same Seattle police officers who'd contacted her previously refused to take action.
Admittedly agitated, the girl said she tried to tell the officers she'd been assaulted, according to court documents. When they did not assist her, she called her mother.
Her mother arrived at the scene, the girl told detectives, and contacted the officers on her daughter's behalf.
"They told my mom that they were tired of all these kids downtown causing trouble," the girl told police.
"It seemed like (one) officer put us all in one category," the girl continued. "We were fed up with Seattle police but we wanted to press charges. It didn't seem like the officers were (ever) interested in hearing my side of what happened."
The incident has prompted King County Executive Dow Constantine to order a review of Metro security.
"Public safety is our top priority," Constantine said. "I am appalled by the sight of uniformed guards standing by while a person was kicked and beaten. ... People have an expectation of safety when riding public transit, and we must take every measure we can to assure that."
The 15-year-old girl who delivered the beating was arrested over the weekend and was booked into juvenile detention, according to the Sheriff's Office statement. In addition to the four suspects charged Wednesday, a 17-year-old male suspect is still at large.
During the incidents leading to the attack, the 15-year-old defendant claimed to be a member of the Deuce 8 street gang based in the Central District, according to court documents.
Asking that Hayman, Watson and Whitaker be jailed pending the case's resolution, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Cindi Port noted the gang-like character of the attack.
"The facts of this case are of great concern given the gang mentality of all the defendants involved in which a female member of their group is sent in to attack the victim and the rest of the defendants swarm in and grab the victim's belongings," Port told the court.
The juvenile defendant remains in detention pending arraignment Thursday in juvenile court. The three adult defendants are being held in the King County Jail on $100,000 bail and will be arraigned on Feb. 24.
