Helping mugged woman landed teens in jail, court

The three young men said they were doing what they thought was right on Sept. 1, when they went to the aid of a woman who'd been mugged in the street and was calling for help.

Yi Ming Lin and Rico Ford, both 18, ran to her and began to help her gather the packages strewn about the sidewalk in the Chinatown International District.

They got on their knees to collect the beads of a necklace that scattered when the mugger grabbed for a gold chain on the woman's neck.

Their friend, Ken Woo, also 18, chased the man they said they'd seen assault her.

What they got for their trouble was a couple of nights in jail, several thousand dollars in legal fees and months of headaches.

The three young men were arrested later that day and charged with attempted theft after a witness told police they'd attacked the woman.

According to police reports, a witness saw the three teens surrounding the woman and told police they'd attacked her.

The witness then followed them and gave police their license-plate number when they left.

The elderly victim, who does not speak English, was unable initially to tell police what happened.

Yesterday, nearly two months after the attack, King County prosecutors dismissed all charges against the three.

Seattle police stand by the arrest. They say that because a language barrier prevented them from immediately speaking to the victim and several other witnesses, they were acting on the best information they had at the time they arrested the three.

"It's not uncommon for eyewitnesses to give different accounts of what was seen," said police spokeswoman Deanna Nollette.

After the victim was twice interviewed by police and prosecutors and twice said the young men weren't involved, prosecutors dropped the charges.

"We felt there were problems and decided to drop the charges in the interest of justice," said prosecutor spokesman Dan Donohoe.

The young men's attorney, Jeff Smith, said they never should have been arrested.

"There's an obvious prejudice against teen boys of color," Smith said. "It was an inadequate and hasty investigation based on one statement taken from one person at the scene."

The three teens are friends from Rainier Beach High School, where Lin and Woo are seniors and Ford is a recent graduate.

The three teens said they are planning to file a wrongful-arrest lawsuit against the Seattle Police Department to repay some of the $11,000 raised by their friends, teachers and family members to fight the case.

The teens said the experience won't stop them from helping someone else out again, but it has made them think twice.

"It really struck me pretty hard," said Ford.

"All those things about prejudice you read in history class. It struck me when this happened," he said. "This is really real."