More than a year after a beating and shooting outside an Alki restaurant/bar, a King County Superior Court jury has delivered its verdict for the man charged in connection with it. The trial of 28-year-old Michael Helmer of Kent ended one week ago today with jurors declaring him guilty of four counts of second-degree assault. The incident in August 2012 rocked the community enough that the establishment outside which it happened, Bamboo Bar and Grill, hosted a neighborhood meeting and promised changes. (This summer was much quieter at the beach, as discussed with police at last month’s Alki Community Council meeting.)

Prosecutors said Helmer was one of two men who attacked another man outside Bamboo (the other apparently has never been found); another man tried to help the first victim, who was on the ground and being kicked, and was shot by Helmer, with the bullet traveling through his arm and lodging near his heart, where it couldn’t be removed.

A witness followed Helmer and called 911 with updates until police arrived, at which time he pointed out Helmer, and officers made the arrest, subsequently finding the 9-millimeter gun wrapped in a jersey. He’s been in jail ever since – so those 14 months will likely be counted toward whatever he gets when he is sentenced November 8th. Prosecutors are recommending 6 years and seven months – the combination of 43 months (four concurrent terms) followed by 36 months for use of a deadly weapon.

P.S. – Thanks to the WSB reader who asked tonight about this case, which we had not checked on lately; the information above comes from court documents we downloaded while researching her inquiry.

No new flasher incidents reported so far today – but we have two updates:

*Two schools, Madison Middle School and Schmitz Park Elementary School, have sent letters home to parents to make sure they heard about yesterday’s incident in north West Seattle.

*Seattle Police have published an “update” on the Tuesday incidents. Comparing it to what they released yesterday, includes some changes in the story of exactly what happened, and some slight changes to the suspect’s description.

More details on all of the above, ahead:

Read More

One day after the West Seattle arrest of Michael Sean Stanley, the convicted rapist who cut off a monitoring bracelet and fled Canada, he has just appeared in Seattle Municipal Court (via video feed). Our partners at The Seattle Times report that Stanley pleaded not guilty to harassment and that his bail is set at $100,000. Earlier this morning, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe told WSB that Stanley has not yet been booked in the alleged Admiral-area sexual assault that police learned about after the initial harassment arrest, so he will not have a bail hearing in that potential case today. Any additional information in the case today will be added to this story. (Photo: King County sex-offender-registry page)

ADDED 1:54 PM: News release about this morning’s hearing, sent by the City Attorney’s Office, which is responsible for the current case:

Seattle Municipal Court Judge Karen Donohue set bail at $100,000 today for registered sex offender Michael Shawn Stanley on a misdemeanor harassment charge filed by the City Attorney’s Office.

CAO asked for the unusually high bail for a misdemeanor based on information from the King County Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating a separate, alleged sexual assault by Stanley on a teenage male. Stanley, an American citizen, re-entered the United States recently from Canada where he has an extensive sex crimes record. Also, in this state, he has been convicted of first-degree burglary and DUI.

The misdemeanor charge alleges that Stanley, while intoxicated, was making loud noises in an alley behind a residence in West Seattle. When the victim asked him to be quiet, Stanley repeatedly said he would beat the victim up.

The City’s sentencing recommendation is 364 days in jail/274 days suspended, an anti-harassment order and a substance-abuse evaluation plus any recommended follow-up (with Stanley remaining under the court’s jurisdiction for two years).

ADDED 5:51 PM: KING 5 obtained video from Admiral Chevron that they say shows Stanley in the mini-mart there very early yesterday with the teen who told police he had been sexually assaulted. See their report here.

(UPDATED with first official info from police – scroll or click to end of story)

6:09 PM: We’ve just learned that police are investigating another case of a “flasher” near a local school. This time, it was reported by two students from Madison Middle School. According to the mother of one of the students, the man was exposing/touching himself while in a car, with the door open, near 45th and Andover (map), about two blocks south of Madison, around 2:45 pm. She says he was described as a “30-something white male, dark hair, heavyset. Black, small 4-door sedan in poor condition.”

We are trying to reach police to see if they believe it’s linked to any of the previous recent incidents in West Seattle. (P.S. If you are just catching up with the day’s other news, that was 6 hours after rapist Michael S. Stanley was booked into jail, so there’s no chance it was him.)

6:28 PM UPDATE: And now we’re getting word of an incident outside Westside School (WSB sponsor) today as well – one of the schools targeted in earlier incidents. Multiple parents just tipped us – here’s an excerpt from the note that went home:

I regret that I must write to inform our Westside Families of another incident that happened at school today. This afternoon, several Middle School girls were playing near the fence along 32nd Ave. A man drove up, stayed in his car and began to touch himself inappropriately. The girls immediately walked away from the fence, notified an adult and were not in any physical danger. Staff were present on the playground and observant of the students. Parents of each of the girls involved have been contacted personally by the school.

Our primary concern is to keep your children safe at school and in the community. Our playground perimeter is fenced and secure, and we have video cameras in place. We have adults with children at all times on our playgrounds and in school. Just as in the previous incident, we are cooperating fully with law enforcement and will provide as much information as possible to support them in finding this individual and preventing him from engaging in this type of activity. We will also communicate with our colleagues at other schools that have been affected by recent similar events.

Those incidents were (links go to our coverage):

*September 9, Holy Rosary
*September 18, Holy Rosary
*September 18, Westside
*October 1, Hope (reported child-luring attempt, while the previous three were “flashers”)

It should be noted, police have never said whether any or all of those are believed to be related.

9 PM UPDATE: SPD Blotter now has a report on today’s two incidents – go here or read on for the full text:Read More

(UPDATE/EDITOR’S NOTE: Police now say Stanley is under investigation for sexual assault – scroll down for newest info)

9:50 AM: Just published on SPD Blotter:

Seattle police have arrested Sean Michael Stanley, a violent sex offender who fled Canada and entered the US earlier this month.

Just before 6 AM this morning, police received several reports that a man was yelling in an alley near the 2300 block of 44th Avenue SW in West Seattle.

One caller told police that when he’d asked the man to quiet down, the man had threatened to assault him.

When officers arrived at the scene, they Stanley, who became combative with officers and claimed he had a knife.

Officers found a small knife on Stanley, who appeared intoxicated, and booked him into the King County Jail for harassment.

ADDED 10:45 AM: First – in case you are wondering which alley in the 2300 block of 44th, police say it’s the one between California and 44th, behind the Admiral Theater (added: photo of the general area).

No word yet what he was doing in West Seattle; in case you haven’t seen the regional-media reports about Stanley, here’s one from the Seattle Times (WSB partner) published before today’s arrest. He is 48 years old and was out of prison in Canada after serving time for crimes including, reports the Times, “raping an 82-year-old woman who used a wheelchair and of luring and sexually assaulting two mentally challenged boys.”

On October 1st, he removed a monitoring device he had been ordered to wear, and eventually made his way to the U.S./Canada border crossing in Blaine, north of Bellingham. He turned up in Seattle last week and, while local authorities aren’t sure if he is required to register here – Canada didn’t even want him extradited – he did register as transient, saying he was living near Pike Place Market. Here is his page on the King County sex-offender registry site; we’ve added the photo from that page to this story.

11:07 AM: According to the King County Jail Register, Stanley was booked at 8:42 am and his bail is set at $1,000. He is listed on the register as Michael Shawn Stanley; the names/aliases listed on his sex-offender-registration page are Michael Sean Stanley, Michael A. Bigwolf, David Quintasket, Carl C. Youngpine. He is a U.S. citizen and entered the country on October 7th, according to Canadian reports. There’s more about his background in this story, which notes that he has a record with at least four dozen convictions.

11:39 AM: Since the charge on which he’s being held is a misdemeanor, it’s being handled by Seattle Municipal Court and the city attorney’s office, whose spokesperson Kimberly Mills says he is scheduled for arraignment tomorrow morning.

12:23 PM: Police now say Stanley is under investigation for a reported sexual assault just before his Admiral arrest early today. An update from SPD Blotter:

Shortly after arresting sex offender Michael Sean Stanley this morning, Seattle police received information that he may be the suspect in a sexual assault in West Seattle earlier today.

According to the report police received this morning, Stanley met a 16-year-old male at a grocery store, struck up a conversation with the teen, and walked with him to an alley in the 2400 block of 44th Ave. SW. In the alley, Stanley plied the teen with alcohol, grabbed the teen, and sexually assaulted him. The 16-year-old pulled a knife on Stanley and was able to run to another location and contact police.

Detectives believe this incident may have preceded several calls to police about noise and threats in the alleyway. After investigating those complaints this morning, officers arrested Stanley for harassment.

Stanley, who fled Canada and entered the US earlier this month, is currently in the King County Jail, but will be re-booked on additional charges today.

Stanley is currently registered as a sex offender and is under the supervision of the King County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities are now working to determine how this will impact his offender status.

Since attempted sexual assault is a felony, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will now be involved in the case; we’re checking with them regarding plans for a bail hearing – most likely won’t be before tomorrow.

3:32 PM: No new updates yet – the jail register still shows Stanley behind bars. He has been out of prison in Canada since April 2011. We haven’t found court documents for any of his cases but he does have a record in our state as well, dating up to the turn of the millennium. He had a King County Superior Court case from 1983 – when he would have been in his late teens – but the docket doesn’t cite the charge and the records are not available online.

MONDAY MORNING UPDATE, 10:05 AM: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office tells WSB he has yet to be booked in the sexual-assault case, so he won’t be on the bail-hearing calendar for that today. He is in Seattle Municipal Court right now and citywide reporters say he has pleaded not guilty and that bail has just been set at $100,000. Separate story to come.