FOLLOWUP: Gatewood stabbing suspect Ryan Cox again ‘refuses to appear’ for bail hearing

For the second consecutive day, Gatewood stabbing suspect Ryan Cox refused to appear for his scheduled bail hearing, according to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe. So another one has been scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday), and Cox remains in King County Jail, three days after he was taken into custody, accused of stabbing a 40-year-old West Seattle man multiple times after a confrontation at California and Orchard. The victim’s friends and family say he will survive. Prosecutors are expected to make their charging decision on Monday; as we detailed on Wednesday, Cox has been in and out of the criminal-justice and mental-health systems for years.

33 Replies to "FOLLOWUP: Gatewood stabbing suspect Ryan Cox again 'refuses to appear' for bail hearing"

  • JCW August 11, 2017 (5:53 pm)

    What does “refused to appear for his scheduled bail hearing”  mean for someone currently in custody? (Justice system novice here)

    • Katie August 11, 2017 (8:30 pm)

      Well he’s basically saying, “I don’t want hear about bail. Keep me in jail.”. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for everyone else. 

  • B August 11, 2017 (6:14 pm)

    How can he refuse to appear for a bail hearing if he’s currently in jail? 

  • ACG August 11, 2017 (7:51 pm)

    B, I’m wondering the same thing. Can’t they just escort him there- or have his attorneys attend on his behalf?  Seems to me if you refuse to attend your bail hearing multiple times, you should just be denied bail at some point. This is a waste of time and resources to schedule hearing after hearing. 

    • WSB August 11, 2017 (8:06 pm)

      I am not an expert in criminal law and I haven’t yet been able to find relevant references in the RCW. (I hope one of our lurking longtime commenters who ARE experts might pop in, but it’s Friday night in midsummer …) However, you do still have constitutional rights when in custody, and he is not yet charged, let alone convicted. – TR

      • CAM August 11, 2017 (8:55 pm)

        In general, and making no reference to this case, a person can refuse to leave their cell to attend court. The judge can order the person to come but they usually don’t order that force be used. Using force to extract a person from their cell involves the use of pepper spray or similar means and would generally make a person unsuitable for court and could lead to injuries for the defendant and jail staff. It would also have a negative impact on all others in the general vicinity. After all of that a person could refuse to attend once brought to court or, whether due to mental illness or other factors, could make such a scene in the courtroom that they could not be allowed to remain for the hearing anyways. There are means for proceeding in court in the defendant’s absence but usually several tries are made first to protect individual rights.

        If a judge finds probable cause to hold a person they would not be released so a person can’t achieve a release by merely refusing to attend court. 

        • CAM August 11, 2017 (8:57 pm)

          It’s also not really a waste of time or resources. Multiple hearings are all scheduled to occur at the same time. The court would just move on to the next available case. 

          • ACG August 12, 2017 (3:45 pm)

            Thanks CAM for explaining the process. Glad that he will not be able to be released by just refusing to show. And thanks for clarifying the how the scheduling of cases works. 

            Best wishes for Court, Danielle and their family. I am so sorry this happened to you. 

        • Amy August 28, 2017 (5:57 pm)

          Yes, thank you for taking the time to explain. It does make sense. 

  • Alki Resident August 11, 2017 (8:03 pm)

    He’s probably enjoying his stay. Free meals, shower. 

    • CAM August 11, 2017 (9:03 pm)

      If you believe that jail is at all not a noxious place to be I highly recommend spending a couple hours there one day. 

      • flimflam August 11, 2017 (9:11 pm)

        jail sounds terrible and i would assume anyone would do their best to stay clear.

        • Alki Resident August 12, 2017 (10:19 am)

          Yes you’d think , but Ryan was living in the bushes in the heat and he’s not right in the head so I’m assuming he may be liking it there. Who knows. 

    • P August 11, 2017 (11:02 pm)

      I’m confused. You guys harp on how he should be locked up and throw the key away but now you’re saying he’s using jail as a free ride??? Make up your mind. He’s in jail. He doesn’t want to go the bail hearing because he would rather be sentenced and stay. He’s mentally unstable. He probably feels safer in jail. 

  • dsa August 11, 2017 (8:29 pm)

    He can permanently refuse and spend the rest of his life there as far as I hope and care.

    • Mom August 12, 2017 (12:08 am)

      Agreed. I lost all compassion when he attempted murder on an innocent father/husband. Mental illness can only be the scapegoat for so long. Prayers to Danielle, her husband and children. As for Ryan Cox, I hope he never sees the free world again. 

  • momosmom August 12, 2017 (8:09 am)

    @P…if you’ve been reading here on the WSB for a long time you’ll noticed that most posters like to complain about everything, whether it contradicts what they previously posted or not, I believe they complain to just complain! They want their cake and eat it too.

    And good thoughts to the victim and his family!!! 

    • P August 12, 2017 (10:21 am)

      Oh I have and you hit the nail on the head. The victim is in my thoughts. 

  • Concerned West Seattlite August 12, 2017 (9:09 am)

    There is another crazy wandering the streets of West Seattle with a baseball bat and has obvious anger issues.  Last seen wandering through the Thriftway (California and Morgan) parking lot Friday a.m. yelling at nothing in particular and swinging the bat.   Tall, skinny, auburn curly hair, glasses.

    • WS Guy August 12, 2017 (2:36 pm)

      Yeah that guy gave me a scare too. 

    • redblack August 12, 2017 (2:44 pm)

      call the police.

    • P August 12, 2017 (5:25 pm)

      If you’re really a concerned citizen you would make a report to get him help. 

  • unknown August 12, 2017 (4:53 pm)

    The arm swinging screaming people are everywhere, we were at the light on 4th and Michigan and there was a man crossing against the light swinging a 6 foot long tree branch as he crossed yelling all the way!

    Call me naive but how is there so many mentally challenged people in the world, what made them this way…was it too many drugs, legal and illegal  is it alcohol poisoning syndrome??? what? it is so saddening and there seems to be no help for these people and it seems as though their families just have given up on them and also society. :>(

    • Katie August 13, 2017 (7:09 am)

      1. We closed mental hospitals and residential care facilities so even people who want help can’t get it because there aren’t enough beds.

      2. We made it absurdly difficult to commit people too mentally ill to know they need help. 

      3. We made it absurdly difficult to force the sick to take medication.  

      4. We then left their “care” primarily to their families. 

    • mark47n August 13, 2017 (8:45 am)

      Bear in mind that these people aren’t “mentally challenged” they are ill. While it’s not uncommon for one who is mentally ill to be addicted to drugs as they search for ways to feel better, to feel something or anything or to quiet the mental clamor. The lack of mental healthcare, both publicly and privately, I believe, is one of the contributors to addiction but addiction isn’t the cause of mental illness, that is chemistry/biology. 

      While this goes into tweeds a bit, I mentioned above that there is little private care to be had. There are no child psychiatrists or adult psychiatrists that really treat patients any more beyond managing meds. Some, like my cousin the shrink, do it over Skype and makes hundreds of dollars an hour.

      While many insurance plans offer some mental healthcare benefits many providers are out of network, if the accept insurance at all. $300/hr is the local going rate for a psychiatrist. 

      So…the lesson today, kiddies, is that there really isn’t mental healthcare in this country. 

      • WSB August 13, 2017 (9:03 am)

        And there are many myths about mental illness. Violent people with mental illness are rare, as are violent people without it. But mental illness itself is not rare, and cannot just be willed away. Here are some debunked myths, and facts.

        https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/July-2015/Dispelling-Myths-on-Mental-Illness

        P.S. I don’t know how Saturday’s hearing turned out – my contact won’t be available again until Monday morning – but the jail-register listing for Ryan Cox still has the notation “bail denied,” as it has been since he was booked. If bail was set, the register would have been updated. – TR

    • George August 30, 2017 (1:39 pm)

      Ryan’s family did not give up on him. They love him. Paranoia builds walls. 

  • unknown August 13, 2017 (8:21 am)

    Thank you Katie for some clarifications…AND I said  “challenged” and not “ill” because I hope that they can become better and function somewhat “normal” in their daily life. 

    And yes their primary care is left to family and families are at a loss because they are not schooled or trained to help. again…sad.

    • mark47n August 13, 2017 (8:49 am)

      You said challenged to make yourself feel better and to minimize what this is. Bipolar disorder, clinical depression, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, dissociative disorders, these don’t become better. Not in the way you seem to imply.  

      It’s not “sad”, it’s a travesty. 

      • Carm August 13, 2017 (4:12 pm)

        I totally agree with you!  There is a lot of ignorance when it comes to mental illness.  And it makes me sick how there is no where to go to get that kind of help.  All the beds are always full…..   Maybe if it was called brain illness people would get it.   I truly hope this changes.  I pray about it. I really think these treatment centers were held accountable! They say there are dual treatment and 30 days is not enough time!  Sorry for the interruption.  God Bless us all!

  • unknown August 13, 2017 (4:24 pm)

    @Mark47N yes I guess I said it terms that I feel better but it was not to minimize the problem and who are you to tell me otherwise on how to feel, maybe I’m more sympathetic to “these people” and the travesty of the help they do not have. This does not mean I condone what Ryan Cox did and I hope he never is released but does get help while he’s incarcerated for the rest of his life.

Sorry, comment time is over.