West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Kidnap/robbery case details

Bail is now set at half a million dollars for the 33-year-old man arrested near his High Point apartment Wednesday night (WSB coverage here), suspected of crimes including kidnapping, beating and robbing a woman who called police for help from that apartment. The suspect is not yet charged – Monday is the deadline, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office – but we have new details about the incident from the probable-cause document they provided, as well as the letter that High Point management sent to residents. Read on:

First, the probable-cause paperwork. Here’s how it summarizes what police found out (note that the first “victim” mentioned is not the woman rescued in High Point, but rather the owner of the car the suspect allegedy stole earlier):

On April 7th at about 4:30 pm, (suspect) was at an acquaintance’s house (in 9000 block Seward Park Drive) The victim stated that (suspect) asked to use his car to get coffee and he said no, you can’t. Later the victim went into the bathroom and when he returned he saw that (suspect) was gone and so was his car and his cell phone. He said that (suspect) took the car and phone without his permission. This covers (probable cause) for investigation of auto theft.

(Suspect) then drove the stolen car to 23rd S and S Jackson where he saw (female victim) walking toward a bus stop. (She) said he approached her in the car and implied he had a gun under his seat and told her to get in the car. She said she ignored him and continued walking. She said she then heard a “click” sound and thought it was a gun trigger being pulled back. He then said he was going to shoot her if she didn’t get in the car. At this point fearing for her life being shot by (him) she got in the car. This covers (probable cause) for investigation of kidnapping.

Once in the car (she) said, (he) told her that he wanted sex from her and that she better act normal as they drove to his location so as not to draw attention to them. This covers probable cause for investigation of attempted rape.

(She) said (he) then drove her to his residence in West Seattle and once inside he took all her items of value including $50 in cash and her cell phone. She said that he did this still under the implied thought of being shot if she didn’t comply. This covers the (probable cause) for investigation of robbery.

At this point (he) went into the bathroom. (She) said she grabbed her phone and called SPD. She was unable to say where she was. SPD radio “pinged” the phone and responded to this residence. (He) came out of the bathroom and saw (her) on the phone. He ran at her and punched her in the face several times with his fists before he fled the house. (She) sustained visible bloody injuries to her nose and eyelids during that assault. This covers the (probable cause) for investigation of assault. Arresting officers arrived and placed (him) under arrest as he entered the stolen car in an attempt to flee the scene. He was positively identified by the victim at the scene.

The document describes the suspect’s past: “He has a history of 14 events since 2007 with a violent history of assault (3 arrests), 2 theft arrests, a hit-and-run arrest. He has past warrant arrests with failure to appears. He admitted to currently being in treatment for mental illness as well.” Then, the document says, the suspect “has lived in the Seattle area for the past 13 years, however he has no family ties to this area. He stated he is a substitute school teacher for the Seattle school district.”

We also have received, from a High Point resident, the letter sent to HP residents by the development’s management. After mentioning the arrest and saying the victim got out of the hospital later the same night, the letter says:

Seattle Housing Authority does a criminal background check on every resident before they are admitted to housing. This resident had no criminal record at the time of his admission. The Housing Authority is not always aware of subsequent arrests unless they are made on the site, as this one was.

High Point Management is in contact with the Seattle Police Department. Seattle Housing Authority will be taking the necessary legal action to ensure ongoing safety of our residents and the community. The seriousness of this crime constitutes grounds for eviction.

We will be checking again with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Monday to see if charges are filed.

5 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Kidnap/robbery case details"

  • MargL April 9, 2010 (7:02 pm)

    “He stated he is a substitute school teacher for the Seattle school district.”…

    AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

    • WSB April 9, 2010 (7:18 pm)

      Re: the claim that he is a substitute teacher – I am going to check with the district on Monday regarding that one. The paperwork does NOT state an occupation for the suspect, aside from his claim, in the narrative,. Had not heard anything to that effect before procuring this doc. Of course, anyone can claim any occupation when asked, As we mentioned in the Wednesday night story, our friends at Central District News crossreferenced a taxi license to the same guy at the same address – but when we looked it up, we noticed it had expired at the end of ’08 – TR

  • kj April 9, 2010 (7:11 pm)

    No kidding. I thought SSD was finally checking backgrounds better after problems they’ve had in the past with not doing it.

    YIKES!

    Who’s running that place?!

  • designer April 9, 2010 (10:41 pm)

    Note to publisher: Please do not use italics for quoted text within articles or for comments. Italics are hard to read in paragraphs and sentences. The block quote and background graphic are enough to communicate that the comment is from visitors.

    Italics are intended to be used for emphasis within a sentence and should not be used for whole paragraphs. #design #typography

    • WSB April 10, 2010 (5:07 am)

      Hi; thanks for your comments – having worked in typography and design for more than a few years in my first decade of media, I always appreciate hearing from someone interested in those arts. Will think about that for the site’s future design rev … TR

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