West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Truck-theft/ramming suspect out of jail

The man arrested on Tuesday after a cross-peninsula series of incidents involving a stolen truck is out of jail, though not necessarily off the hook. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office confirmed to WSB today that a judge did not find probable cause to keep the 23-year-old suspect in jail when he appeared for a bail hearing on Wednesday. If you missed our coverage on Tuesday – the incident began with a truck full of landscaping equipment stolen from Alki Avenue SW next to Cactus; a citizen pursued the stolen truck, which reverse-rammed the citizen’s car at 53rd and Stevens; the truck continued on to Morgan Junction, where it did the same thing to a police car (photo at right, tweeted by Robert). Officers found the truck ditched shortly thereafter on Gatewood Hill, and found the suspect hiding under a deck at a home nearby; he was arrested and booked into King County Jail – where the jail register shows he was released hours later. Since he was not held, paperwork related to the hearing is not available – so far – but we are told that charges are still possible, as police continue to process and compile evidence. Court dockets show the suspect has a record with more than half a dozen felony convictions as a juvenile and one as an adult, a plea-bargained case three years ago in which he was found with a stolen car.

29 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Truck-theft/ramming suspect out of jail"

  • timh2o August 8, 2013 (11:26 pm)

    Of course no surprise…

  • DTK August 8, 2013 (11:27 pm)

    Why am I not surprised?

  • Dale August 8, 2013 (11:28 pm)

    Good job judge. This is exactly the type of person who should be released, given his multiple felonies background too. Not shocked, not surprised. Mostly disappointed.

  • Adam August 8, 2013 (11:47 pm)

    I don’t know which is less surprising, that the suspect had a long criminal history or that the judge didn’t care to keep them behind bars for attempted vehicular homicide.

  • M. August 8, 2013 (11:55 pm)

    Incredible…all that damage, vehicular assault(?),eluding Police, the multiple felony convictions, and he’s out in mere hours. Hard to believe.

  • AlexDex August 9, 2013 (12:04 am)

    Who is this learned judge that thought reckless endangerment was not worthy of keeping this repeat offender in custody?

  • old timer August 9, 2013 (12:26 am)

    Wow, so beneficent and generous with the citizens’ patience and property. Pray tell who is this so called Judge?
    Name please.

    • WSB August 9, 2013 (12:52 am)

      If I had it, I’d have mentioned it. It’s hard to spare several hours to go downtown and wait through the calendar to see what happens at bail hearings, so I wasn’t there. Would have been the calendar judge in one of the jailhouse courtrooms. The only piece of related paperwork that’s visible online so far does not include a judge’s name.

  • Gene August 9, 2013 (6:49 am)

    If/when we learn the Judges name- REMEMBER IT folks at voting time– just like Judge Kessler!. But- there could also be other reasons he wasn’t held- perhaps the proper paperwork wasn’t completed in time — there is a procedure that needs to be followed- by police & prosecutors- whether we like it or not .
    Maybe more info will be forthcoming. If so we’ll see it here– thanks WSB.

  • AE August 9, 2013 (8:04 am)

    For real?? I thought at least since it was a POLICE car he hit (and it was an assault, not an “accident”), he might actually face some repercussions (whereas if it was an ordinary schmoe like me I expect no one to care). Thief, psycho, scumbag. Truly unbelievable. I guess I’m naïve.

  • The Farm August 9, 2013 (9:00 am)

    That is what happens when “bleeding-hearts” get elected and jails get over crowded because so many are let go to “do better” but don’t and then end up in jail….and then another comes a long and knows there will be no repercussion. Walk softly care a big stick.

  • Snowflake August 9, 2013 (9:38 am)

    Why bother?

  • scubafrog August 9, 2013 (9:41 am)

    Not surprised. This is why Seattle-Tacoma are the 4th worse cities in America for car thefts.

  • AE August 9, 2013 (10:11 am)

    Farm, your reasoning doesn’t make sense, since it concludes with more second-offenders in jail. Which isn’t the case here. It’s a lot more complex than “bleeding hearts” getting elected. Try thinking about the froth-mouthed calls to reduce government spending.
    .
    Not to sidetrack, I’d also like to blame someone. My car was just broken into last night. There are just roving scumbags all over West Seattle, since there are no real deterrents. So frustrating!

  • neoyogi August 9, 2013 (10:57 am)

    Just a thought. Maybe they need to make sure there is enough evidence to actually charge him and KEEP him in jail, which means they need to process the stolen car as a crime scene. They found the guy hiding under a porch. There are plenty of idiots hiding under porches these days. Rushing to charge would more likely result in procedural errors.

  • k2 August 9, 2013 (11:11 am)

    this is an absolute joke..

  • Jeff August 9, 2013 (11:29 am)

    The real shame is if I find someone breaking into my car and break their arm, I’M the one that goes to jail. Only sort of joking.

  • yo August 9, 2013 (12:18 pm)

    AE – Where are you located? I just want to see if it’s in my neighborhood. Sorry to hear about your car.

  • Ajax August 9, 2013 (1:34 pm)

    prob·a·ble cause – Noun – Reasonable grounds (for making a search, pressing a charge, etc.).

    So, multiple people, including police officers, witnessed the theft of the truck and the subsequent vehicular assaults, but there’s not probable cause to hold the repeat felony offender? What I take from this is that the only deterrent to going on a crime spree in Seattle is one’s own moral compass.

  • Mike August 9, 2013 (6:43 pm)

    “King County Superior Court Judge Johanna Bender decided there was not enough probable cause to hold him.” http://www.king5.com/news/crime/Car-thief-suspect-accused-of-ramming-police-cruiser-out-of-jail-next-day-219060431.html
    .
    So there, don’t vote for Judge Johanna Bender.

    • WSB August 9, 2013 (7:53 pm)

      Oh, now I see Mike’s comment. I don’t have time to watch TV, but they have lots of time to watch us. Our followup will be included with another court case I’ve been working on today with a change.

  • Ex-Westwood Resident August 9, 2013 (7:01 pm)

    This guy had an arrest warrant that was released the day before THIS “judge” let him go.

    • WSB August 9, 2013 (7:52 pm)

      Funny you mention that, I’m downloading district court documents now. They weren’t available yesterday. The District Court download availability is new and seems to be slower than Superior Court, but yes, there’s a warrant dated Wednesday for some other case.

  • NW mama August 9, 2013 (8:58 pm)

    Wow.

  • pupsarebest August 9, 2013 (10:22 pm)

    I am a “bleeding heart liberal”, and I am appalled.
    I totally support our rights under the Constitution and Bill of Rights, but this seems beyond comprehension.
    Why do I feel if I had committed these CRIMES that I’d still be cooling my heels in jail, and contemplating a longer stay in prison???

  • Ames August 9, 2013 (11:09 pm)

    So what does it take to find probable cause?

    (cue the SNL Seth Meyers & Amy Poehler “Really?” sketch)

  • robert August 11, 2013 (12:23 pm)

    REMEMBER:::: YOU ARE DEALING WITH A POLITICAN WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT A JUDGE . THEY ONLY WORRY ABOUT ONE THING KEEPING THE HOLD ON THEIR JOB .TURN-TABLE JUSTICE WORKS FOR THEM ,AND THE LAWYERS. THE COPS CAN WORK FOR MONTHS BUILDING A CASE ONLY TO HAVE THE DEFENDANT RELEASED IN ONE OR TWO DAYS BY A JUDGE FOR WHO KNOWS WHAT EXCUSE. GET RID OF THE JUDICAL WELFARE.IF YOU VOTE FOR SOMEBODY OTHER THAN A BLEATING LIBERAL ,IT MIGHT WORK

    • WSB August 11, 2013 (12:42 pm)

      Robert: I don’t know whether this judge is a “liberal” or not. Doing just a tiny bit of research, her appointment to fill a vacancy on the bench in spring 2012 drew positive comment by King County Councilmembers of multiple political philosophies, according to the news release. Then half a year later, when she had to run for a full four-year term – nobody else filed to run. http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Johanna_Bender

  • James August 13, 2013 (1:09 am)

    I wouldn’t be so quick to blame the judge. If any ball was dropped it has to be the prosecutors office. If the judge isn’t handed any evidence or statements to rule on than the arrested is free to go. As it should be.

    Now who is the incompetent overworked prosecutor? Assuming if any of the 50 cops responding actually filed a report.

    I’m a bit curious to find out if we have a courageous judge, lousy prosecutor, or some other shade of gray.

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