Lincoln Park attack suspect Duane Starkenburg pleads not guilty, barred from all parks in King County

(Starkenburg at left)
Here at the King County Courthouse, 46-year-old Duane Starkenburg has just appeared for arraignment on the charges he’s facing in connection with three attacks on women in Lincoln Park. He has been out of jail since two days after his January 25th arrest; he arrived at court in a suit and tie. With King County Superior Court Judge Ronald Kessler presiding, Starkenburg pleaded not guilty to the two indecent-liberties charges and one attempted-indecent-liberties charge against him. Prosecutors asked not only that he continue to be prohibited from being in Lincoln Park, but also that he be prohibited from being in any public park or “marked walking or jogging trail” in King County, “for the safety of the community.” The judge agreed. Starkenburg’s bail status has not changed; he remains free on $175,000 bond. Next up in the case: A hearing on March 28th. (Photo credits: Top, Tracy Record/WSB; right, Mike Siegel/Seattle Times, republished with permission)

LR February 9, 2011 (10:04 am)

What happens to people like him?

visitor February 9, 2011 (10:13 am)

a slap on the hand? that is pathetic.

WSB February 9, 2011 (10:27 am)

This isn’t the sentencing – just the arraignment, when a defendant answers the charge against him (and in this case, he contends he is not guilty). Next, either trial or a plea. Then, if he is found guilty of something, the penalty would be decided. – Tracy

jiggers February 9, 2011 (10:51 am)

Creep!

cclarue February 9, 2011 (10:58 am)

Too bad he gets To be free until March 28th.

Born To Be Mild February 9, 2011 (11:35 am)

Okay WSB, why do you allow someone to post something like this?

“As a father of two girls I can say that if the attack involved one of them or my wife and the perp is easily known and tracked, that the perp would not still be able to walk or worse.”

Sounds like somebody thinks assault is okay.

WSB February 9, 2011 (12:01 pm)

Most of the time we do NOT moderate all comments. So we don’t know of something objectionable until someone flags us – and I’ve been a little out of contact the past couple hours between court and the Municipal Tower, where I’m currently researching something else downtown.

T-Rex February 9, 2011 (12:39 pm)

Born to be Mild:

Really?? Would you not want your own father or mother to do anything and everything to protect you? My father is old school and I would pity the poor fool that would ever lay a hand on me. It is called “old school” and back in the day if creeps like this did something to a woman, father AND brother would take care it.
Take a look around at this world that we are living in now and tell me it is working out OK. Good Lord, we have a website that we can go to that show us where molesters LIVE. That just isn’t right.
I feel the Dr. had the right to voice his opinion.

NoseyWSer February 9, 2011 (12:59 pm)

What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Oh, that’s right – we’re in Seattle. Never mind.

Sonoma February 9, 2011 (1:38 pm)

Of course, Duane is free to be a threat to women and “watch them jiggle” if the women are walking outside of parks or walking in a place that a “not a marked walking path.” For instance, California Avenue. Oh, well. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the next “Bachelor.”

SuperAwesome February 9, 2011 (3:26 pm)

Wouldn’t all sidewalks be considered a “marked walking path”? :)

D. February 9, 2011 (4:11 pm)

So dark parking lots are free reign?

datamuse February 9, 2011 (6:42 pm)

T-Rex, I don’t understand what a community alert website has to do with the rest of your point?

Mike Off Alki February 9, 2011 (6:45 pm)

This perv has been ID’ed by at least a two of these women. He needs to go to jail where he can smell all the butts he wants!

austin February 9, 2011 (7:55 pm)

LOL @ the clown blaming Seattle.

NotMe February 9, 2011 (8:22 pm)

March 28? Wow, this guy is on a fast track! That’s actually pretty quick, and I am glad he will be facing a trial if he continues with the “not guilty” plea. I am a little concerned that it wasn’t exactly defined where he can NOT be. I agree, a sidewalk should also be considered. I just hope this guy stays away from people – and that he ends up in jail if/when he is found guilty.
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What happened with the lady that was being stalked in Lincoln park, but decided to pee without knowing where her creep was?

Alki resident February 9, 2011 (10:25 pm)

T Rex_You nailed it,thanks for saving me the time of typing.If this happened to our family,he wouldnt have seen a courtroom.

waterworld February 9, 2011 (11:34 pm)

NotMe: The March 28 date is a pretrial hearing, and it is set according to court rules and statutes. A rule called the “speedy trial” rule requires a trial on a felony within 90 days, if the defendant is out of custody.

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If there is a hearing on March 28, the parties will tell the judge whether they are ready to head to trial or whether one or both of them want more time to prepare. Way more often than not, the trial gets pushed to a later date. Sometimes the pretrial hearing is rescheduled, also, without any of the parties appearing in court. My guess is that the trial (if there is one) will be much later this year. But that’s just a guess.

Paul February 10, 2011 (12:10 am)

Born to be Mild:

Should not your post be erased because you have posted the post that you did not want to see posted in the first place??

Born To Be Mild February 10, 2011 (1:19 am)

Paul, I understand that logic. But if MY post was deleted, I wouldn’t be able to respond to the pro-violence faction.

Born To Be Mild February 10, 2011 (1:42 am)

@T Rex: Here’s the difference. Your want your menfolk to defend you. Their fists and guns should be available for DEFENSE. But once the crime has been commited, I don’t want the vigilantes to show up in my community to assault or murder someone who has been arrested.

If you think that justice is dispensed without the police or the courts, it sounds like you think like a gangbanger. You know who dissed you, you know where they live, so you drive by and fill the house full of hot lead. Die MFer!

Born To Be Mild February 10, 2011 (2:09 am)

@Alki resident: “If this happened to our family,he wouldnt have seen a courtroom.”

But I bet YOU would see a courtroom. :)

If you murdered someone I bet your new family would be made up of the loving folks you’d meet in prison. Talk about indecent liberties.

But Seriously, I suspect you’re just posturing because it makes you feel good. I’m just pointing out that language precedes action and I want a peaceful neighborhood. I want the perp to get a fair trial and maybe THEY go to prison and you can stay here and defend the beach from those lawless gangbangers.

Jeff February 10, 2011 (7:22 am)

BTBM,
Everything you say is true, but when people lose faith in the legal system to reach what they believe are correct outcomes, it leads to vigilantism. Maybe the best way to make everyone happy is to make the “speedy trial” language actually meaningful, including appeals. Or maybe restructure plea bargaining so that it doesn’t so often seem like criminals effectively get away with terrible crimes just to make it easy on the prosecutor. It isn’t even just that sort of thing though, it is our societal propensity to be soft on criminals. If I catch someone breaking into my car, even if I manage to get the police out to arrest them on the spot (which is unlikely) they will be back on the street 6 hours later. Car prowling is de facto legal in this city. If it was your car, you have to admit it would be much more satisfying to break the guy’s arm than go through the toothless legal process. If people had faith that the police and courts led to the correct outcome, then you wouldn’t see posts like the ones that bother you. Maybe we can make everyone happy by fixing it from that side.

Alki resident February 10, 2011 (8:16 am)

Btbm _fyi I couldnt give a rip about gangbangers anywhere.I defend my family.Maybe YOU can go back to being a troll in your perfect world.Most people know that Eddie will serve some time and go back out and reoffend.

Born To Be Mild February 10, 2011 (8:42 am)

I like your solution and I understand your frustration with car prowls. The thieves in my neighborhood seem to leave my car alone, but I bet I lose $200 a year on average because they’ll steal anything that isn’t locked up. But I think we’ve drifted off topic. We have a suspect who has been arrested, he’s out on bail, and we have citizens who are threatening murder. I know it’s an emotional situation but I think it deserves a rational solution. We have people like Jared Loughner who are guided by voices. I’m suggesting that those kind of voices should stay inside the head of the criminally insane and not be proposed and accepted as valid by anyone who lives in this community.

Born To Be Mild February 10, 2011 (9:07 am)

@Alki resident: Yes, defend your family. Just don’t murder the suspect. And you’re probably right about Eddie, but I hope he’s been stopped. My world isn’t perfect, there’s too much violence, somebody keeps stealing my stuff, and now I’ve got to deal with my troll problem. Peace.

Jeff February 10, 2011 (9:50 am)

I really don’t think it is off topic. I’m telling you where vigilantism comes from. It comes from people not knowing how to behave in decent society, and not suffering any consequences from it. The fact that you seem basically indifferent to regular theft of your property leads me to believe that you will never really understand my point of view.

T-Rex February 10, 2011 (9:54 am)

BTBM – My mother is not “menfolk”.

And the only person who used the “M” word was you. Your assumption is incorrect.

onceachef February 10, 2011 (11:22 am)

I think he should change his name to “Stalk-enburger!

John Q Lincoln February 10, 2011 (11:58 am)

He is a creep and we know what he looks like and we know where he lives. He hasn’t done anything severe enough yet for our legal system to put him away for any length of time. He isn’t welcome in our parks or neighborhood and I would think when this is all over with he would seriously want to consider moving elsewhere. Until then, enjoy the friendly looks from your neighbors, Duane.

Westside J. February 10, 2011 (1:19 pm)

T-Rex, I’m with ya. It’s probably bot the smartest way to handle it, but hey, I’m old school too..

Paul February 10, 2011 (3:17 pm)

there has to be a happy medium between vigilanti and protecting. What if I see some guy attacking a woman, can I beat him up or do I just have to watch and call the police?

Born To Be Mild February 10, 2011 (3:32 pm)

@Paul – Yes! Help the victim. Stop the attack! Call the police. But once the victim is safe, and you find out where the perp lives, your use of force is going to cause trouble for you. Give ’em the stink eye, don’t break their arm.

Born To Be Mild February 10, 2011 (3:57 pm)

@Jeff: Yea, as I’ve aged and the number of times I’ve been a victim has gone up, I feel less of a need for immediate justice. I like having the police handle the criminals and I know the frustration when the crime is unsolved. I understand YOUR situation, I just have bigger fish to fry. The post I asked to have deleted included a call for “private action” because we know where the suspect lives. That isn’t defending your family or finding out who stole your Ipod. That’s a serious crime that puts you in jail with Eddie.

Dr. Richard Curtis February 11, 2011 (9:48 am)

It is interesting that the vigilanti angle has been picked up in what I said. My point was that people don’t do that. Even I probably wouldn’t in the context of the system working. I was pointing out that given how primitive our reactions can be that it is inspiring to see that we do set those aside and let the system work. Some like to think that people are bad by nature (a perversion introduced by Christian theology, and by the way my PhD is in theology), and while we know this is not true from modern science, it is a view many cling to. And so here we see what I think is an interesting example of that nobler spirit guiding us in the context of extreme emotions. People can be inspiring as well as disappointing. I was trying to call attention to something inspiring in us.