CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Bridge Park break-in suspect charged

| Crime | High Point | West Seattle news

Last night we reported on the arrest of a man suspected of breaking into apartments at the Bridge Park senior-living complex in High Point early Saturday while the residents were home. Today, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged 35-year-old Abdulrizak I. Yusuf — a convicted sex offender – with two counts of residential burglary. The charging documents say Yusuf has an extensive criminal history listed as including:

… convictions for Theft 3rd Degree (2013, 2015, 2019), Theft (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018), Crim Trespass 2nd Degree (2014, 2015), Residential Burglary (2014), Att Residential Burglary/Indecent Exposure with Sexual Motivation (2017), Theft 1st Degree (2017), Theft 1st Degree/Att Robbery 2nd Degree (2017), Crim Trespass 1st Degree (2019), Vehicle Prowling 2nd Degree (2019), Assault 4th Degree/False Statement/Theft 3rd Degree (2019), and Voyeurism 1st Degree (2019).

The voyeurism conviction, actually in 2020, put him in the sex-offender database, from which we obtained the photo at right; he is listed as having failed to register. In the new burglary case, the charging documents say Yusuf broke glass to get into one apartment where a husband and wife were sleeping. She screamed at him to leave; her husband escorted him out the front door into the hallway. There, police say, Yusuf tried doors and found one unlocked, entering that apartment. When police arrived and knocked on that door, the resident – a woman who uses a wheelchair – yelled through it, “There’s a strange man in my apartment! Get him out, please!” They forced their way into the door, which the suspect had locked behind himself, and took him into custody. No injuries were reported. Yusuf remains in jail, bail set at $25,000. The jail register indicates he had been held for investigation of burglary just last week, arrested September 13th and released two days later; the jail roster format changed recently so it’s not clear why he was released, but we’ll be following up.

jonathan September 22, 2021 (5:56 am)

Police put them out of circulation for a while. Let’s see if it sticks.

Mark Schletty September 22, 2021 (7:07 am)

The perfect example of what is wrong with our revolving door criminal justice system. With this record there is no conceivable justification for his release last week or for only a $25000 bail today. Vote for change in our whole system.

Westsider September 22, 2021 (8:49 am)

Justice system in this regions is broken in so many ways; revolving door is the right description. Please pay attention to this years city attorney election, it’s only going to get worse in this city.
- wscommuter September 22, 2021 (4:08 pm)
  
  The City Attorney has nothing to do with this person’s offenses – the city can only prosecute misdemeanor violations. King County Prosecutor’s Office will charge these crimes.
SB September 22, 2021 (11:29 am)

Clearly this person likes being in jail so let’s just agree to keep him there.

momosmom September 22, 2021 (7:33 am)

OMG lock this guy up and loose the key!

Mel September 22, 2021 (8:04 am)

Absolutely disgusting. Some of these senior citizens could have been seriously hurt. What will it take for us to actually keep people in jail and punish them for the crimes they commit? Criminals don’t learn as is apparent by his record. How many more people have to become victims at the hands of this man?

S.A. September 22, 2021 (11:02 am)

With a record like this I would bet $100 that the man is mentally ill and probably having psychosis. This is not a failure of criminal justice, but of mental health AND our social safety net.
- CAM September 22, 2021 (11:33 am)
  
  Can you explain what in the above description specifically would lead you to draw that conclusion? Stereotyping people with mental health problems puts them at risk of violence and endangers their safety. On a more basic level it makes it harder for them to get housing and jobs or to build successful personal, supportive relationships, all of which are things that can help them maintain stable mental health. Comments like this with no basis in fact are harmful.
  - They September 22, 2021 (12:06 pm)
    
    Mentally healthy people don’t hurt themselves or other people
    - wscommuter September 22, 2021 (4:10 pm)
      
      Mentally healthy people commit serious felonies and misdemeanors every day. The number of people with mental health problems who commit crimes is a small fraction of the crimes that are committed. Just facts.
  - S.A. September 22, 2021 (6:53 pm)
    
    In fact I work in mental health.Breaking into a residence with people at home and awake inside is not the act of a clearly-thinking person. Breaking into another residence in the same building, rather than trying to escape the building, is not the act of a clearly-thinking person. The kinds of low-level, disorganized crimes this person has in their history (including the “burglary with indecent exposure”) sounds like the rap sheet of someone who has trouble with living an organized life, caring for themselves, and making sound decisions. It sounds like the rap sheet I’ve seen come with dozens of folks into community treatment settings, folks whose main problem isn’t the drugs they may or may not be actively using but the psychosis they’re trying to manage or block out with the drugs. Both issues wind up driving crime but the psychosis makes it impossible for the drug treatment to “stick,” and the lack of mental health resources and a strong social safety net ensures that the psychosis will continue. E.g. few employers will hire a person who mutters to themselves or occasionally has angry outbursts even on their medication, and there is vastly insufficient funding for basic disability income so the person cannot afford housing, and the free or subsidized housing (if the person even gets in) isn’t set up to handle the angry outbursts in a supportive and restorative justice oriented fashion because the support positions for the housing pay so little that they are often employment of last resort, so the person becomes or remains homeless and loses their meds to theft or a camp “sweep,” and without daily behavioral support they struggle to take them regularly anyway, and the psychosis comes back and whether or not they medicate it with drugs they get led by the psychosis into breaking into someone’s home, and the system grinds on until they’re disruptive enough (aka they hurt someone who “matters” to the system rather than themselves or someone like them) to finally be transferred over to the incarceration budget rather than the social services budget. And there they get nothing resembling quality medical, mental, or rehabilitative care, and eventually they come out and around we go again.
    - CAM September 22, 2021 (7:06 pm)
      
      Equating sexually motivated offenses with mental illness is not the same thing either. The crimes you are referring to are not obvious evidence of mental illness. They can very easily suggest organization and predatory behavior. Don’t assume you know the qualifications of the individuals you are responding to.
- 1994 September 22, 2021 (7:53 pm)
  
  I am not sure the social safety net can help him but it could sure keep the rest of us safe from having a person like this running about, breaking and entering, scaring people….so sad this happens and we have to suffer from people running amuck.
  - Mel September 23, 2021 (8:15 pm)
    
    Yes to this. Whether or not it’s mental illness is unknown to us. What is known is that this person is a danger to all citizens. At what point does the rights of many trump the rights of a few? While jail may not fix his problems, him being there keeps the rest of us safe. People (like the senior citizens in this incident) deserve that.

Medley September 22, 2021 (8:28 am)

Does it seem like West Seattle is becoming less safe? So close to the food bank where services could get him on a better path. One life can affect so many others, for good or bad. So many misguided.

Medley September 22, 2021 (8:41 am)

18 felony convictions in 8 years proves that our criminal justice system is not working. Time to abolish the cops, the courts, and the jails.

sgs September 22, 2021 (1:59 pm)

Ha. I agreed with your first sentence and then was taken aback by your second. Doesn’t follow. Accountability is a concept that works with addictions and mental health as well as crime. This city isn’t holding anyone accountable for anything, even in addiction and mental health programs. If you believe mental health issues are involved here, then abolishing criminal justice system is not the answer. If you believe this was criminal, then it really is not the answer.
Rhonda September 22, 2021 (4:40 pm)

The ONLY ones who would benefit from abolishing law enforcement are dangerous criminals like the suspect in this incident.

Beto September 22, 2021 (9:10 am)

Thanks for including the photo!

Pete September 22, 2021 (9:36 am)

AND these are just the times he has been taken into custody. prosecuted and convicted. GAWD only knows how many others have been victimized by this individual where he was not caught.

Auntie September 22, 2021 (10:21 am)

Who would be surprised to hear he was released last week “on personal recognizance.” If so, what a joke. With his record, I cannot imagine why they just let him out to reoffend. Let’s hope they can keep him locked up this time.

WSB September 22, 2021 (1:52 pm)

I’m asking the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office if they have documents from whatever last week’s arrest was. The jail roster does not cross-reference to policr incident numbers so that’s the only way I can try to find out,

bikerep September 22, 2021 (10:24 am)

all this and JUST a $25k bail. So $2500 and and he’s out.WHAT A JOKE

Paleeaze! September 22, 2021 (6:41 pm)

The post said $25,000, which I think will be sufficient. But yes, it is a concern that it got to this point.
- bikerep September 24, 2021 (12:39 pm)
  
  i think they can go 10% on a Bail Bond..so..?

John September 22, 2021 (10:43 am)

Yes…thank you for posting his picture….why we need to bring back “3 strikes” Starts with changing the politicians in our once proud city.

CAM September 22, 2021 (11:35 am)

The city council and mayor and city prosecutor or any city official (or really any county official either) have ZERO to do with the maximum penalties available by law that are set by the STATE LEGISLATURE.