Followup: Ryan Cox charged with hate crime, assault in bus attack

Following up on our Monday report about the latest arrest of 34-year-old Ryan Cox, who first made news for a wave of homophobic graffiti vandalism three years ago: The King County Prosecuting Attorney has filed two felony charges against Cox in connection with the baseball-bat attack on a man last Friday, saying the man was attacked because of Cox’s perception of the victim’s sexual orientation. That allegation led to the first charge, malicious harassment – the formal term for “hate crime” – and the second charge is third-degree assault.

The attack happened as Cox and the 31-year-old victim – a stranger to him – were leaving a Metro Route 21 bus in the Luna Park area around 2 pm Friday; police say the man reported being hit about four times, leaving him with fist-sized welts on his back, though he declined medical attention. Cox was arrested the next day after police were called about him screaming homophobic slurs at people in the Solstice Park tennis-courts vicinity, and he is reported to have then confessed to the Friday attack. The prosecution asked today that Cox’s bail remain set at $75,000, and cited a criminal record dating back to 1995, when he was still a juvenile, as well as the “dozens of additional recent property destruction and weapon charges that were dismissed for reasons related to the defendant’s mental health.” (Those are explained in our Monday story, which also noted, as did today’s charging papers, that Cox got out of jail less than two months ago after serving almost three months for violating probation related to a stalking case from last year.) He remains in King County Jail tonight and is scheduled to answer the new charges at arraignment in King County Superior Court on November 14th.

shed22 October 31, 2012 (8:41 pm)

Good. The man needs to be institutionalized. He is a danger. A danger that may be able to be controlled by medication and in a controlled environment. Anything less should be a community concern.

AIDM October 31, 2012 (9:47 pm)

This guy is so scary. I just hope this assault will be enough to keep him in jail or the psych hospital for a long time. If he keeps getting out, he will eventually kill someone in West Seattle.

M2 November 1, 2012 (8:19 am)

In cases like this, where someone continues to menace or has demonstrated an ongoing pattern of criminal activity in West Seattle, how would the WSB feel about publishing booking photos of the offender, if/when they are released on bail or convicted? In this case, I believe it would be in the public interest to help us to avoid this gentleman in the future. I know it is a fine line determining which crimes would be appropriate to publish, and when it would be appropriate to publish: arrest/arraignment/conviction/release from detention… However, if you create a firm, set policy independent of a specific case and always follow that established guidance you could conceivably avoid the case by case assessment. What do you think?

WSB November 1, 2012 (8:50 am)

There are no booking photos available. Law enforcement agencies in this area do not make them public except – as was the case regarding Cox in 2009 – if they have a search under way and want the public’s health. We have a very old shot of Cox in several past reports. Photography likely will be allowed at arraignment court on the 14th and whatever I get there, I will publish, though the arraignment court is a dicey setup with a thick layer of lawyers and others, plus a big pane of glass, between the bench and even the front row of the courtroom … TR

alkiobserver November 1, 2012 (12:48 pm)

This guy just needs to be taken off the streets and out of circulation for the long term. Beyond appalling that he continues to be set free given his continuously abominable behavior. Whether he is competent or not, he clearly needs to be locked up for a long, long time. Whoever the clown judges are that keep letting him loose need to be voted out as they are obviously incompetent for the danger they put the public in.

Tim November 1, 2012 (1:22 pm)

Google image search yields a booking photo

WSB November 1, 2012 (1:49 pm)

As I mentioned, there was a photo released three years ago when he was being sought. We have published that image multiple times. It was directly linked in comments on our previous story. However, by all accounts, he does not look like that now. Even police didn’t recognize him (see the Monday story) until HE called out to them. This is the one to which I’m referring:
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http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/cox.jpg
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I saw him in court myself a couple years ago (Mental Health Court, where photography was not allowed), and he looked nothing like that. If you are seeing another one (besides the ones of him vandalizing in 2009), please provide the URL, because I’d love to know where it came from.

evergreen November 1, 2012 (11:31 pm)

Cox has been such an enigmatic fixture in WS. Supposedly Harvey Milk had an underaged partner when he was in his 30’s. Perhaps that is why he carries milk at all times…

M. November 6, 2012 (7:09 pm)

Well, he’s out already. Saw him walking on Fauntleroy and Austin today around noon.

WSB November 6, 2012 (7:17 pm)

Not him. Jail register shows him still in. When people bail out, there’s often a few hours lag, but not the kind of lag there would have to be for him to get out by noon and still be shown as in custody right now. Also, lower bails have kept him in – I don’t know where he would raise the more than $7,000 it would take to post bond. – TR

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