CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Plea bargain in Ryan Cox case?

Almost a year and a half after repeat offender Ryan J. Cox was arrested and charged with stabbing a man in Gatewood, the case may again be on the verge of resolution. His omnibus (trial readiness) hearing has been postponed twice in the past week; the document filed today says, “Parties have a resolution with all terms finalized” and that Cox is expected to enter a plea Thursday. Nothing’s final, of course, until it actually happens: Last July, as reported here, there was also word of a “resolution” but it fell through; today’s document also notes, “Parties will be asking for a continuance if case does not resolve.” Cox has been in jail since the night of August 8, 2017, when he was arrested after allegedly stabbing another man, and himself. We detailed his criminal history in this followup the next day.

flimflam January 22, 2019 (4:40 pm)

why in the world would a violent, repeat offender get a plea deal?

LoveFreedom January 22, 2019 (5:45 pm)

Because of the cost of jailing someone. No state income tax to pay for things like jail.
- CandrewB January 23, 2019 (6:05 am)
  
  Record revenues. How hard is that to ignore?

Me January 22, 2019 (4:55 pm)

I’m with Flimflam

Bellvy January 22, 2019 (5:04 pm)

Because of untreated mental illness. Sad.

KBear January 22, 2019 (6:06 pm)

Because trials are time-consuming and expensive. A plea deal doesn’t necessarily mean no punishment, but it does free up resources for other cases. But if you’re against plea deals, you’d better step up and serve when you’re called for jury duty.

Mike January 22, 2019 (6:22 pm)

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for him to be sent to a facility where he can’t harm others and is less likely to harm himself. We should hold all parties asking and allowing for a plea deal to be held accountable for anyone else hurt or killed by him, including himself.

CAM January 22, 2019 (7:42 pm)

A plea deal in no way determines whether a person will or won’t be in prison for a lengthy period. Assault in the 2nd degree is a class B felony and if memory serves correctly, the defendant has multiple prior convictions for violent offenses. All of that could contribute to a lengthy period in custody, even under the auspices of a negotiated plea. The prosecutor’s office also typically consults with the victim or their family regarding the plea agreement and takes feedback. That doesn’t mean they can veto it but they do get the opportunity to offer objections. In some cases, negotiated pleas have been for decades of time behind bars. Probably best to wait and see what is actually happening before maligning the entire system or issueing blanket statements.

Bill January 22, 2019 (6:22 pm)

Cox probably has a mental illness, which is indeed sad, but he is a danger to the public and shouldn’t be getting a plea deal. And let’s remember that the vast majority of people dealing with mental illness are not dangerous. Cox is.

Peter January 22, 2019 (7:09 pm)

Why is West Seattle obsessed with Cox? I’ve never lived anywhere else where people latch onto one transgressors as the epitome of all evil like we do in West Seattle.

Alki resident January 22, 2019 (7:40 pm)

Obsessed??? Clearly you weren’t at the horrific crime scene. Maybe show up to one of thosfuture, it’ll make you think differently.
Gatewood Resident January 22, 2019 (8:05 pm)

Peter, I sincerely hope you never encounter Ryan Cox in a dark alley. The man has been a constant menace to West Seattle almost costing one man his life. Many of us have had interactions with him and every time he scared the living hell out of me. I’ve worked in areas of town where mentally I’ll people hung out and/or lived but never have I had an interaction like I have with Mr. Cox. Unfortunately, his mental illness is extremely scary and untreated.
Greg January 22, 2019 (8:07 pm)

He’s also tagged property on virtually every arterial in West Seattle with hate speech.
Lynn January 23, 2019 (12:46 am)

Peter, maybe if you’ve been paying close attention to how many neighbors he has terrorized or been subjected to that, you’d understand. Instead of making some remark about how we’re obsessed. This is where we live. We don’t want someone like Cox roaming around. Its simple to understand.

Elise January 22, 2019 (11:09 pm)

Peter – he is dangerous. He stood outside our home and our neighbors home muttering f–king dykes and f–king faggots. He had a cinder block in his hand. We and our neighbors are LGBT – we do not feel safe around him. Especially when he knows where we live. He is a big man and he is crazy.

M January 23, 2019 (8:38 am)

Who will be blame when he reoffends in our community? Fool me once……

Mj January 23, 2019 (9:42 am)

Anyone with a demonstrated history of violence needs to be locked up! This is for the safety of everyone.

wscommuter January 23, 2019 (11:06 am)

Given that none of us yet know what the terms of the plea deal would be, I’d say the histrionics on this board are a tad premature, at best. A few facts. Approximately 94% (the number varies year-to-year) of criminal cases are resolved by a plea rather than a jury verdict. That number is actually a tad lower here in King County than in most other large cities around the country, which is to say, we try more criminal cases to juries than most cities in the U.S (credit Chris Bailey, Norm Maleng and now Dan Satterberg for those aggressive policies). The reason why the vast majority of cases plead out is chiefly that the vast majority of people caught committing crimes are easily convicted and there is an incentive to plead. The phrase “plea bargain” connotes a negative outcome for many people because in their (justified) anger at a given offender’s crime, they think that any outcome that is less than the worst possible outcome for that offender means that person somehow beat the system or that the system “caved in.” Which is typically untrue. Instead, for many offenders (in fact, I’d venture to say for most, based on my own past experience working in this system), a “plea bargain” typically achieves a fair result for the particular facts in that particular case. Always perfect? No – no system can be. But usually getting it right? Yeah, actually, mostly so. Which brings us to Mr. Cox. I don’t know yet what plea deal he has made. Since I don’t – yet – I will withhold judgment and not just react in ignorance. Yep – I’ve read about his history and such on this blog … we’ll see what happens. Because we have, you know, laws, we can’t just summarily lock people in dungeons and throw away the keys. While it feels good to condemn Mr. Cox – I get it, he’s a bad guy – because (at least so far) we remain a modern democracy based on the rule of law – we don’t over-incarcerate someone to appease the mob. And if people don’t like the way the law works, don’t blame the judges or the prosecutors or the police … direct your focus to the state legislature where the laws are passed that predetermine how we punish each and every felony crime in the state of Washington. Plea bargains are based on the determinate sentencing rules and formulas set in Olympia.

Dunno January 23, 2019 (1:06 pm)

I know both parties involved. Court is a really good guy. Ryan is mentally sick. Ryan should be at Western State in the F unit’s. Unfortunatly, even there, he will be able to hurt others. I hope you’re doing better Court, I know the scars will never go away. Pray for you always!

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