A 20-year-old man was taken into custody by police on suspicion of shooting a man while attempting a robbery. Seattle police responded to a call about the shooting at around 12:15 p.m. on Nov. 12. The accused man was reportedly trying to steal the other man's iPhone, but there was a struggle, and the phone owner was shot in the knee. The accused man then reportedly ran from the scene. Seattle Fire transported the man who was shot to the hospital for treatment.

Police officers say that they used a description of the alleged attacker to search for him and his vehicle but failed to locate him. Robbery detectives gathered information about the man through interviews with witnesses. Gang detectives followed up on the case on Nov. 19 and found the man at a residence in Renton. The man was said to be leaving the residence as a passenger in the front of a vehicle when officers arrived to take him into custody. The detectives allegedly saw a handgun under his seat, and the car was impounded while a search warrant was obtained.

The gang detectives took the man back to Seattle for robbery detectives to interview him. He was held in custody for an assault warrant and for the robbery, but the investigation was still underway at the time of the report.

When someone is accused of a felony offense, such as robbery, based on witness identification, there is a possibility that the witness might be mistaken; the witness's perception might have been altered by the stress of the incident. The accused might also be able to take a plea bargain for reduced charges if there is a chance of a conviction in a trial.

Source: Renton Reporter, "Seattle police arrest Renton man for robbery attempt and shooting last week", Brian Beckley, November 20, 2013