We’ve found ourselves writing more about repeat offenders lately. No surprise, since Southwest Precinct police have long pointed out that a relative handful of criminals are responsible for a disproportionate amount of the property crimes representing the worst problems in this area. But what continues to be surprising to many is the reality of what happens once they’re arrested. We track cases and present what we find in documents; a senior prosecutor from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office gave some frank context at last week’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting, pointing out, among other things, that while someone might have a long record, when it comes to sentencing time, what counts most – literally, via a scoring system – is the number of felony convictions they have, and for many, that number is relatively few.
For most of the repeat offenders whose cases we updated last week, that was the case. It’s why Jessica Detrick and Taylor Church are both set for residential drug treatment, via the Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative. We’ve also updated the cases of repeat offenders Sean Jeardoe and Alan Polevia, both of whom are still in jail tonight.
Now – another one.
While checking the King County Jail Register over the weekend, we saw another name we recognized: Jared Barden. We first reported on Barden, who is 31 years old, on August 23rd, when he was arrested in Lincoln Park after fleeing a car-prowl scene nearby. The arrest drew a lot of attention because the Guardian One helicopter helped with the early-afternoon search. Barden was charged with misdemeanors and released from jail the next day.
We hadn’t checked on his file recently, until seeing his name on the jail register, which shows this is his third time in jail since that Lincoln Park arrest six weeks ago.
(August 23rd photo via Steve Shelton Images)
Barden was booked September 8th for a failure-to-appear warrant in a burglary case and suspicion of auto theft; he was released September 26th – one week ago tonight. He was arrested four days later, last Friday (September 30th), for what’s described as criminal trespass, and then released on Saturday, with the notation “case dismissed.” Less than eight hours later, at 1:16 am Sunday, he was back in King County Jail, for investigation of auto theft. At a hearing this afternoon, his bail was set at $10,000.
Probable-cause documents say Barden’s newest arrest happened in Arbor Heights late Saturday night, near 35th SW and SW 102nd. Police were called when the owner of a pickup truck saw “an unknown male” in the truck, possibly “breaking the steering column.” When police arrived, their report says, Barden was still in the truck, both doors locked. He ignored their orders to get out of the truck and to stop what the report calls “digging around in the truck.” At some point, police say, he found a screwdriver and stuck that in the ignition, which started briefly, then sputtered out. He tried yet again – police still outside the truck, deploying spike strips so he wouldn’t get far if he got it going – and failed. The truck’s owner came out of his house and gave police a key they used to open the door. Barden still refused to get out; the report says officers finally “dragged” him out, arrested him, and took him to jail. He is due back in the jailhouse courtroom on Wednesday.
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