West Seattle Crime Watch: Hit-and-run; followups on Roxbury Safeway deputy assault, High Point gunfire cases

In West Seattle Crime Watch, one new incident plus two followups:

HIT-RUN DRIVER DAMAGES 2 CARS: P reports this happened on Halleck SW:

Yesterday morning, Thursday, January 10, approximately 615 AM, an off white Jeep Wrangler, probably in the early 2000s era, with hardtop and KC off-road lights mounted on top, smashed mine and my neighbor’s cars while apparently trying to navigate getting out of a parallel park situation. My neighbor heard the sounds and was able to make it outside to see the end of the incident, but was unable to get a license number because of darkness and rain. The driver of the Jeep sped off erratically. Drunk/drug induced driving is suspected because this was no small bumping of cars. My back left quarter panel and bumper is bent in, my fender was completely ripped off, my exhaust was bent entirely vertically down, and my back left wheel is bent in, most likely making the entire rear suspension out of alignment and rendering the car un-drivable. My neighbor’s car was also damaged in a similar way, with easily 1k in damage. A police report was filed yesterday afternoon.

Any help identifying the car/driver would be most appreciated! Most likely the Jeep will have damage to its front, probably more specifically the front right.

We have asked for the police report # and will add it when available. (UPDATE: 19-012991) Now, the followups:

(WSB photo, Monday)

ROXBURY SAFEWAY SUSPECT CHARGED: Charges are now filed against 18-year-old Khalia I. Wimberly, who as reported last night has been arrested in connection with Monday’s incident that sent a King County Sheriff’s Office deputy to the hospital. She is charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, and hit-and-run. Bail on these charges is set at $300,000. The court documents include this:

(Wimberly) committed this offense while on a deferred disposition in Juvenile Court for charges of Taking Motor Vehicle Without Permission in the Second Degree and Trafficking Stolen Property in the Second Degree … Based on the probable cause certification for that case, the defendant and three other females approached a 72-year-old, 5’3’’, 130-pound victim in a Kirkland library parking garage. Without provocation, they attacked the victim, throwing her to the ground at least twice and causing injuries to the victim’s face, arms, and hands. The females then robbed the victim of her car, and also stole her purse, cell phone, and financial documents. According to the Victim Impact Statement, the victim’s daughter and grandchildren were in a car just feet away when the victim was attacked. Originally charged as Attempted Robbery 1, the defendant entered into a deferred disposition to the reduced charges. The defendant has done poorly while on the deferred disposition. The defendant was ordered to participate in “Restorative Mediation,” but repeatedly failed to do so.

The charging papers say Wimberly also has a juvenile conviction for car prowling.

HIGH POINT GUNFIRE SUSPECT’S BAIL SET: The 37-year-old man arrested on Wednesday remains in King County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail. Probable-cause documents quote a witness as saying he was targeted along with friends for unspecified reasons while they were in a car in the Walgreens parking lot at 35th/Morgan. The suspect is alleged to have fired the gun at them, from inside the car, through its windshield/window, after screaming threats.

(WSB photo, Wednesday)

Police found casings inside the damaged car, which belongs to a family member who lives where it was found near 31st/Bataan, but the suspect doesn’t live there. He was arrested after another family member reached him by phone in South Seattle and talked him into giving up. The probable-cause documents also say he is facing an unlawful-gun possession charge for two reasons – one, he is a convicted felon, having been found guilty of assault in 2016, and two, he is the subject of a protection order that bars him from gun possession.

10 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Hit-and-run; followups on Roxbury Safeway deputy assault, High Point gunfire cases"

  • Sky King January 11, 2019 (4:59 pm)

    Sadly, it seems Khalia Wimberly and the High Point shooting suspect have each already had more than one chance to start making good choices and doing the right thing. Time to lock both up for good, as they’ve shown they’re unable and unwilling to be productive members of society. The rest of us deserve to be protected from them.

  • Matt January 11, 2019 (5:04 pm)

    deferred disposition,. What a joke.  If someone beats up and robs someone ,why would they not be in jail.  Way to go King county legal system.  With such lenient sentences no wonder these people re-offend

    • Think1st January 12, 2019 (7:15 am)

      Agree 100%. She beat up and robbed someone who is basically defenseless. KC thinks they are doing a good thing, protecting juvenile rights, but it’s actually damaging in the long run. Even a juvenile over 13 in Washington state can refuse getting mental health and drug/alcohol treatment and not even a judge can make them go. 

      • WW Resident January 13, 2019 (10:36 am)

        It’s worse than that. The police department have now changed policy that if Juvenile detention doesn’t take said suspect that the police can no longer photograph and take prints

  • TJ January 11, 2019 (5:30 pm)

    Regarding Wimberly; not surprising and completely predicatable regarding previous records and not taking advantage of “deferred disposition” for reduced charges. To the commenters on previous threads here regarding her needing rehabilitation and not “retribution”, what do you feel now? She had chances, and didn’t take advantage. Time for long jail time. And regarding retribution; it absolutely needs to play into sentencing. Reciprocity is human nature, and stiff jail times is what helped pull us out of the wild west in terms of people seeking retribution

    • Think1st January 12, 2019 (7:08 am)

      I still feel rehabilitation, while incarcerated, is worthwhile. That’s what the new youth jail aims to do. That’s how I feel now. Retribution for juveniles in this state has long been a joke, but not saying it isn’t needed. It’s not a wonder she didn’t take it seriously because she rarely faced any consequences. She assaulted a 70 year old lady and robbed her, was deferred, did poorly, now this? 

  • Jissy January 11, 2019 (6:21 pm)

    “The defendant has done poorly…” Ummm, understatement of the century!!  SMH

  • Mitch January 11, 2019 (7:17 pm)

    Don’t feel bad, Khalia, re-hab isn’t for everyone. Sometimes it just takes a little jail time. Best.

  • Gorillita January 11, 2019 (8:30 pm)

    Her parents must be so proud…

  • waikikigirl January 12, 2019 (4:36 am)

    Why must people make comments like @Gorillta’s when something like this happens? Don’t you think the parents are already saddened enough by the path their child has chosen to take without some unknown person/people to family to make a comment like that?

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