Jury selection is under way for the trial of 40-year-old Gabriel Putnam, the suspected would-be burglar shown on porch video last June trying a Beach Drive door handle while holding a large knife. After he failed to show for a court appearance; a warrant was issued, and he was arrested in October in Idaho and extradited back here. Putnam has been in the King County Jail ever since, in lieu of $25,000 bail; Once a jury is seated, testimony will begin in the courtroom of King County Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts. He is charged with attempted residential burglary and second-degree burglary. According to various trial-preparation documents in online files, the defense argues that Putnam carried the knife for protection and that the fact he was shown walking away after discovering the door locked (here’s the video) indicates he was not intending to burglarize the house. He was arrested on the property of another Beach Drive home further south; the defense says he was just trying to find somewhere to sleep. Pretrial motions granted by the judge included one to exclude any mention of WSB news coverage, which the defense called “inflammatory, unsubstantiated, and irrelevant.” His trial is expected to last about a week.
West Seattle, Washington
23 Friday
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