By Matt Wendland

Four suspects were arrested on Feb. 6 after police say they witnessed a Burien man be beaten and robbed as he attempted to sell the group Seahawks merchandise just days after the after the team's victory at Super Bowl XLVIII against the Denver Broncos.

19-year-old Ryan Woods, 22-year-old Jeffrey Hawthorn, 23-year-old Eric Ramirez and 24-year-old and Rosita Hernandez were charged with first degree robbery by police following the incident.

According to the King County Sheriff’s Department, police were surveilling Eric Ramirez in connection to an open fraud case when they witnessed Ramirez, Hawthorn and Woods exit a Lexus SUV driven by Rosita Hernandez and attack a man near the intersection of the S.W. 153rd Street Alley and 4th Avenue S.W. in Burien. The men are said to have beaten the victim with what appeared to be a black handgun before stealing a bag the man was carrying and fleeing to the waiting SUV.

One man fled on foot after police stopped the SUV but was soon detained. A search of the SUV revealed brass knuckles, digital scales, methamphetamine pipes, methamphetamine, a number of checkbooks, credit cards and identification cards not belonging to the suspects and a black BB gun covered in dried blood. Police also located a black backpack containing Seahawks merchandise.

The victim, a Burien man, told police that he had approached the SUV in an attempt to sell the group shoes, a hat and a Seahawks jersey. Emergency responders found him with a large gash on the top of his head and smaller cuts on his face but no life threatening injuries from the attack.

Ramirez, who later admitted to the crime, told police that the group had decided to rob the man because they believed him to be a snitch.

According to Burien Police, the four suspects have an extensive criminal background that contains multiple felony charges, convictions of first and second degree robbery, attempted burglary, first degree theft and possession of an illegal firearm as well as several other charges.