WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Crash nets burglary (and more) suspect; charge filed in stolen-car-on-side case

| Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news

In West Seattle Crime Watch this morning, two Delridge crashes that resulted in arrests for more than the crash:

DELRIDGE/ALASKA: This crash just after 7 pm last night led to the arrest of a suspect who police say had been harassing employees at a South Park coffee stand, trying to break into the stand at least twice after they refused his solicitation of sex for money. Police had responded multiple times but had been unable to catch the suspect. Then last night, a driver crashed into “multiple vehicles and a business” at Delridge/Alaska and was recognized as the suspect officers had been seeking in the South Park case. He was arrested and booked into jail for what the report describes as “investigation of burglary, eluding, DUI, and requests for solicitation and assault.”

STOLEN-CAR CRASH FOLLOWUP: On Saturday we reported on this car-on-side crash at Delridge/22nd that led to the arrest of an auto-theft suspect:

(Saturday photo sent by Nate)

The suspect, 35-year-old Allan Navas-Panchame of Kent, is now charged with one count of felony auto theft. The court documents say the car’s owner left it running while in the mini-mart at the Chevron station (our initial report erroneously said it happened at the Arco station) at Delridge/Orchard, and that Navas-Panchame ran from the sidewalk, got into the car, and sped away. Witnesses say the car was going about 100 mph when it crashed and went sideways in the construction zone a few blocks north. They told police Navas-Panchame ran out of the car and got into a nearby parked car, where officers found him. The charging papers say he has six felony convictions, for assault, theft, and vehicle prowling; jail records say he was arrested last week in an indecent-liberties case in South King County and had been out of jail less than 48 hours before the Delridge theft and crash. He remains in jail today, bail set at $2,500.

SickofCrime February 11, 2021 (11:27 am)

His bail is only $2500? That is ridiculous….it should be $250,000. Lock these people up and throw away the key.

anonyme February 11, 2021 (12:43 pm)

Not only is the current bail ridiculously low, but he was arrested on a sex crime last week and immediately let go. Par for the course with sex crimes; many are barely even treated as an offense and too many women have lost their lives as a result. The other arrest for burglary, etc. also includes charges for solicitation and assault. These charges must not be routinely dismissed as if they – and the victims – are nothing. We’ll be watching.
Oboy February 11, 2021 (12:57 pm)

Ridiculous indeed, given this:

six felony convictions, for assault, theft, and vehicle prowling; jail records say he was arrested last week in an indecent-liberties case in South King County and had been out of jail less than 48 hours before the Delridge theft and crash

There do not seem to be any prior positive learning experiences from the suspect or court…
Joan February 11, 2021 (2:04 pm)

TOTALLY agree!!
Miciah James February 20, 2021 (10:07 pm)

Bail is not determined by how many crimes you have committed but by your attendance to court and a no bail is due to the fact they think your at risk for not showing up or your deemed a threat to the community.

My two cents ... February 11, 2021 (11:54 am)

Good news that they have apprehended these suspects.

newnative February 11, 2021 (11:58 am)

Score 2 for “Stupid is as stupid does”.

Thisisgettingold February 11, 2021 (12:16 pm)

So looks like the plan is to have him back out for another round of felonies within the week.. 2500 bail. What a joke!

skeeter February 11, 2021 (12:16 pm)

Six felony convictions? What happened to three strikes? This person should be in jail for a minimum of 30 years. He’s going to kill a person the next time he steals a car and drives 100mph in an urban area. I’d gladly pay more taxes if we could use the money to keep these dangerous people locked up.

WSB February 11, 2021 (1:15 pm)

Three strikes does not mean three felonies. It’s three convictions in very specific categories.
https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/three-strikes-youre-out-a-review
paragraph 6

WSRes February 11, 2021 (12:59 pm)

With that criminal history and the circumstances surrounding this most recent arrest how can the bail be set so low?

Alex S. February 11, 2021 (12:59 pm)

So the dangerous criminal who crashed (and could have easily killed people) going 100 mph on Delridge had just been released from jail? Shocker. Maybe the city should put up more 25 mph speed limit signs, and we can get to Vision Zero real quick. Funny how the same activists and politicians who pretend to want to end traffic violence are also largely responsible for causing more of it.

Sandy February 11, 2021 (1:39 pm)

Just in case people do not know, it is illegal to leave your vehicle while it is running. Probably made illegal 15+ years ago for this very reason.

WSB February 11, 2021 (1:52 pm)

Yes, and it’s just generally a bad idea, but nonetheless, that doesn’t give anyone the right to steal your car. I was at Channel 4 in the ’90s when there was a public-service campaign begging people not to start their car to “warm it up” on cold winter mornings because a thief might take it (yes, auto theft was a problem way back then too).
- Sandy February 11, 2021 (3:54 pm)
  
  I was here in the 90s too. Didn’t mean to say it gave someone the right to steal a car.
Heartless? February 11, 2021 (4:45 pm)

Sandy – please don’t blame the victim.

Jort February 11, 2021 (1:45 pm)

There is absolutely zero reason that any car in the United States should be allowed to reach 100 mph. I encourage my fellow Americans to unite behind common sense regulation that will limit the maximum speed in all American vehicles to no higher than 80 miles per hour in order to keep our citizens safer. This is something we can all agree on.

spooled February 11, 2021 (3:15 pm)

We’re talking about auto theft here today jort. Many many people disagree with your opinion. There are plenty of places where it is legal to operate a personal vehicle above 100mph. No, Delridge is not an ideal place, it is much too bumpy. You are not in charge of the world.
StopCuttingDownTrees February 11, 2021 (4:07 pm)

I spent a lot of money (and years of hard work) to acquire a car that will do 180 mph. My next car will hopefully do 200+ mph. Your random 80 mph maximum in a 25 mph zone is FAR more dangerous to everyone than 150 mph on an empty Nevada desert highway at 2am. Driving is all about obeying the posted laws and common sense.
spooled February 11, 2021 (5:33 pm)

If it is any consolation, jort, two of my cars can’t get to 100. One for lack of gearing and the other for brick-like aerodynamics. Two more can get there but aren’t much fun to drive that fast, they get twitchy, leaving just three. Those three, they were built to sing along all day over 100 if we only had the proper highways and keep-right discipline. So, less than half my cars are a threat to your dictatorial top speed. That’s not so bad, right? They’re also all insured / tabbed / and parked off-street, most of them indoors. Take care!
Dan February 12, 2021 (7:01 am)

Actually we are talking about an auto theft and a high speed accident that could have caused serious harm to others. I come from a rural desert country and high speed accidents are frequent and fatal. They are also gruesome, ( my father was a first responder). It’s a serious issue. Your thoughts are something I’ve also wondered about myself.

CarDriver February 11, 2021 (5:42 pm)

I can’t agree with you jort.

Jort February 12, 2021 (8:41 am)

You can’t agree that it is a dangerous tradeoff to allow cars that can go 100 mph to be sold and driven on public streets knowing they can cause such serious impacts to our society? Again, I think speed-limiting cars through design is common-sense for ALL Americans to agree to. The psychological benefits of owning a car that can go fast (“I love driving so fast! Vroom vroom I have a super fast fasty-car! Look at me vroom!”) vs. the obvious danger those cars present to society means that we should be taking strong action to limit their capabilities. Again, this is common sense, non-controversial legislation. All of us, every single American who cares more about life and safety of human lives than the psychological comfort of having a speedy vroom-vroom car, can agree to this.
- david February 12, 2021 (11:45 am)
  
  Oh, Jort, Jort, Jort. Only a contrarian like you could read the above and come to the conclusion that how fast cars can go is the real public safety issue. Nothing to say about the county’s repeated and continued unwillingness to hold this obvious imminent danger to public safety in custody or set a reasonable bail amount?
- anonyme February 12, 2021 (12:05 pm)
  
  I agree with you, Jort. If you want a vehicle that goes far above the legal speed limit in any jurisdiction, then fine – take it to a racetrack. If you’re not doing that, you’re breaking the law. I look forward to the day when self-driving vehicles are mandatory. Being able to apply minimal force to a floor pedal does not a real man make.

Graciano February 12, 2021 (5:58 pm)

Some drivers should just stay with the Prius, Driving may not be your fortay. Like Jort should stay with the bicycle. I’m not very good at blog’n, so I should stay with what I know best…, Driving. Whether it’s driving for work or going down the racetrack at 150+ mph. Back to the crash, why did the owner leave the car running? According to the WSP, it’s illegal to leave an un-attended car running. Stolen car + Bad driver = going to end bad. thankfully no construction workers were hit. Back to looking at car parts.

Sorry, comment time is over.