CRIME WATCH: What led to 2 arrests at 17th/Roxbury

| South Park | West Seattle news | West Seattle police | White Center

We took that photo in the parking lot on the southwest corner of 17th and Roxbury at midday today after tips about a big law-enforcement presence – primarily Seattle PD, though the lot is south of the city/county line. Police at the scene told us they were arresting at least one suspect for whom they had a warrant. Now, the details are in via SPD Blotter:

Seattle Police and King County Sheriff’s deputies arrested two men at a gang member’s funeral in White Center on Wednesday as part of an ongoing anti-violence emphasis effort in the Southwest Precinct.

Police and deputies were on hand at the funeral Wednesday following a shooting one night earlier outside a home on 12th Avenue and Donovan Street in South Park.

On Tuesday, associates of the deceased gang member had gathered at a home near 12th Avenue and Donovan Street for a viewing.

During the event, several attendees were targeted in a shooting outside the home, leaving a 20-year-old man with serious gunshot injuries.

In an effort to prevent any further violence, SPD officers and King County Sheriff’s Deputies maintained a presence outside the funeral in White Center on Wednesday. Following the services, officers recognized one man, who had a warrant for unlawful possession of a firearm and a department of corrections violation.

Deputies also arrested a second man, a convicted felon, who was found in possession of a pistol.

Detectives continue to investigate Tuesday’s shooting, and patrol officers are conducting emphasis patrols in the area.

JanS September 27, 2017 (6:16 pm)

sounds like just a lovely group of people O_o

B September 27, 2017 (7:20 pm)

Don’t do that. Don’t group all of them into being bad people. Someone lost their life and someone else is critically injured.
Jethro Marx September 27, 2017 (7:44 pm)

Sounds like they were mourning their friend; I’m not excited about all the gunfire, but sheesh. It also sounds like you don’t know any of the people involved, who lost a loved one.

Piling on an obviously sad time for this “group” (as you put it) is rude, entitled, and disrespectful. Any funeral is bound to bring broad swaths of people together; for you to imply they’re all lowlifes or something is… Well, rude, entitled, and disrespectful. Loss of life is sad. Celebrities and blond white girls aren’t the only ones we ought to mourn, what?

The King September 27, 2017 (9:45 pm)

Thank you Jethro, you took the words out of my mouth. Snarky comments about people attending a funeral is awful. Just awful.

Gene September 27, 2017 (10:14 pm)

Jethro- your last sentence is uncalled for.

Sean September 27, 2017 (11:06 pm)

It sounds like a percentage of this group is into carrying guns to church and pulling triggers very quickly. And perhaps their friends and relatives know this, which would explain a police presence at a funeral.

WSB September 28, 2017 (12:06 am)

I don’t know anything about the person who died, nor the circumstances. However, police presence at a funeral is not unprecedented. I knew I recalled at least one past occurrence mentioned here, and found it in our archives, from almost ten years ago.
https://westseattleblog.com/2008/01/funeral-for-murdered-boy-set-for-west-seattle-church/

JanS September 27, 2017 (11:59 pm)

Hello…I was talking about the people who would dare shoot someone at a funeral for someone who was just murdered. I meant no disrespect to the people mourning the young man who was killed. But the shooters? They don’t get a damned pass because they did the crime at a funeral. They simply do not get a pass. Not from me. This should never have happened, this arrest today, because the interruption of the funeral should never have happened. No comments about the disrespect for the family mourning, the funeral interrupted by these low lifes from you all? It’s extremely sad, under any circumstance, that this police action had to happen there. So sorry if you didn’t understand the sarcasm. This whole thing is not OK.

Alki resident September 28, 2017 (7:52 am)

If a guy is wanted, he’s wanted. It doesn’t matter if it’s a wedding or picnic. They need to be taken down.
Justin September 28, 2017 (9:27 am)

He DID NOT GET KILLED….my good friend wish people would only talk bout wht they know….had HEART ATTACK in his sleep

AH Folks September 28, 2017 (7:52 am)

Hoo boy, let’s leave all the snark and sarcasm out of this, including weird and offensive references to “blond white girls”. Thank you to SPD for stepping in to protect the grieving family at the funeral – and the rest of us.

Spokant September 28, 2017 (8:32 am)

Going to a gang member’s funeral to arrest gun carrying felons is a great idea. This should be an approach to policing by the SPD. Maybe they will luck out and solve one of these shootings/Stubbings that remain cold.

Jethro Marx September 28, 2017 (8:57 am)

That IS a great idea! Why stop there? We could pull people over and search them if they just kinda look like gangsters. We could find all sorts of malfeasance if police just searched homes at random! Maybe we could tap into Alexa and monitor everybody’s communication. Checkpoints! Imagine the better world we could create.

*note the sarcasm, Jan.
- Swede. September 28, 2017 (9:10 am)
  
  Except for the random home searches those are already in effect. But I’m sure that being worked on too.

Justin September 28, 2017 (9:25 am)

I would like to set the record straight…..ALL well most of u are WRONG….this was a good friend of mine I hung with him and other people tht male us a gang?oh and yeah he WAS NOT KILLED how bout that…..he had a heart attack to all u people who don’t know s–t …….and yes I have several guns and guess wht they all in my name I have a license to carry them 😀…..wowwwww…..gang members wit license…yes some of us don’t but doesn’t make us bad….how many of u drink and drive…u could kill someone think bout tht…we have to protect are self like other Americans……plz talk wht u know and not what u assume…..when u assume u make ASS U ME……

JanS September 28, 2017 (11:09 am)

oh, Jethro, you still don’t get it. Gang members dared to interrupt a funeral of someone being mourned. They dared to take weapons there, disrespecting the family mourning. They put themselves over the family of the deceased. But you just continue making snide remarks. I didn’t realize the young man had passed away from a heart attack in his sleep (according to a poster). That’s very sad, and my condolences to his family. I’m sure this must be very hard for them. Why would anyone make it harder for them, by knowingly going to the funeral with weapons, etc., knowing full well that it would probably attract police activity.

WSB September 28, 2017 (12:00 pm)

Please note, the SPD Blotter post – which is what’s blockquoted above – does not say anything about the funeral in WC being interrupted. The event that was interrupted was reported to be the viewing at a private home in SP the night before (which we didn’t know at the time we reported briefly on the shooting Tuesday night, which drew officers from all over the Southwest Precinct and so brought questions from people who saw/heard the sizable response from miles away) – that’s what the Donovan Street reference is to. SPD Blotter does not specify exactly where the funeral was; the parking lot where we photographed the police activity is about a block east of Holy Family Church, though I looked at their weekly bulletin and it didn’t have any funeral listings (some churches do, some don’t). But again, police did not say the funeral was interrupted. The shooting happened in connection with the viewing the night before, in South Park, SPD said. – TR

Jethro Marx September 28, 2017 (1:23 pm)

There’s a lot of things I don’t know, and I sometimes even talk about things I don’t know. I think Justin has some timeless advice on that front; indeed, every writer has heard that they ought to “write what you know.”

I know public sympathy is more forthcoming for dead people who are either white, or famous, or attractive.

I know backpedaling (and sarcasm) when I see it. The first comment here by JanS did not refer to the shooters. It referred to the group gathered at the funeral to mourn their friend/family member. No one said the shooters should get a “pass.” And there was sarcasm, yes, but in a wink and nod kind of way that implied, “they’re not like us; they are deserving of derision rather than sympathy.”

I know that if I, or my friends and family, had been shot at, I’d want to protect them, even if it meant daring to carry weapons.

I know my white middle-class upbringing does not give me a lot of insight into the experiences of others’ less-privileged lives.

I know that all men are created equal, and we’ve never treated mankind that way in America, and that the founders said that, but meant that all white males who own land are created equal. (sort of)

I know many of my fellow West Seattlites are outraged, but this seems to lead to dehumanizing others, rather than treating others with the respect they deserve, whether they be homeless, or mentally ill, or people of color, or bicyclists, or gang members, or even Republicans.

I know I’m irreverent.

I don’t know why people got upset about my crack about mourning everyone who loses their life; perhaps Gene or the AH Folks could elaborate.

P September 28, 2017 (6:57 pm)

Nailed it right on the head. The first comment was not appropriate considering the circumstances.
Concerned September 29, 2017 (3:09 pm)

Jethro: I know public sympathy is more forthcoming for dead people who are either white, or famous, or attractive.

You’re making a straw man argument here. The lack of sympathy is the fact that we’re speaking of gang members and convicted felons with guns.

You’re right, you live in a bubble and seem to be ridden with guilt. Go talk with police officers who work in neighborhoods dealing with gangs and the violence it brings and get a more real perspective of what’s going on and then you might know something about the issue when speaking about it
- Jethro Marx October 3, 2017 (2:19 pm)
  
  If there were a man of straw created every time someone used the term we’d soon be overrun; at any rate, I don’t think you’re using it correctly.
  
  As for living in a bubble, sure. That’s the point. I think it would be very interesting to speak with law enforcement as you suggest; I think it’s foolish to suggest that that would burst the walls of my bubble, or even give me a balanced view of the situation communities with a history of violence are dealing with. Such a view would require also speaking to the criminals they prosecute, the victims of the crimes, the business owners in the community, the neighbors of the alleged criminals and the neighbors of the victims and the neighbors of the neighbors. Oh, and also reviewing the history of the neighborhood and the residents. And the effect of public policy on that community over the past several decades. Sounds a job of a whole life, what?
  
  Guilt-ridden, me? I feel like I must have done something to make you say that; please forgive me. Your concern is noted.