CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Police arrest another suspect in robbery rampage including West Seattle holdup, Tacoma murder

| Crime | West Seattle news

(Security-camera image from April 6th West Seattle robbery)

Eight days after the arrest of one suspect linked to robberies including the West Seattle Bellevue Rare Coins holdup and one during which a Tacoma cannabis-shop worker was killed, another has been arrested. Tacoma Police announced that 16-year-old Montrell D. Hatfield was arrested by Seattle Police in Kent – same location and agency that arrested 15-year-old Marshon D. Jones last week. After arresting Jones, SPD confirmed to WSB that he and Hatfield were suspects in the April 6th robbery here. So far, the two are charged in the March Tacoma robbery/murder and in a February robbery in Federal Way. Court documents indicate Hatfield is the suspect described in multiple cases as having a “distinctive limp” because of a prosthetic leg.

StopCuttingDownTrees April 19, 2022 (6:01 pm)

Now let’s hope a REAL judge puts them away in adult prison for several decades.

Also John April 19, 2022 (7:39 pm)

Only several decades???? The key would be thrown away if I was a judge.

Mellow Kitty April 19, 2022 (6:16 pm)

Charge them as adults. Even teenagers can figure out armed robbery and murder are against the law. Start making criminals face consequences that reflect the seriousness of the crime. A murder conviction should bring an automatic life sentence with no parole. You murder someone; you stay in prison until you die. You are an obvious threat to society.

Angry Cat April 19, 2022 (10:09 pm)

Completely agree mellow kitty and also John. The punishments aren’t harsh enough

1994 April 19, 2022 (7:33 pm)

Unfortunately these young guys learned that crime can pay as their haul was reportedly in the tens of thousands of dollars. Well, crime can pay in other ways too such as a lengthy incarceration sentence which these guys have certainly earned!

Lauren April 19, 2022 (8:21 pm)

Recommend folks read up on modern abolitionists. Here’s a start:https://www.elitedaily.com/p/6-modern-abolitionists-on-what-emancipation-means-for-juneteenth-2020-22979927

1994 April 19, 2022 (10:47 pm)

If a person can’t follow the ‘social contract’ of good behavior, can’t control themselves, does harm to their fellow neighbors, steals from others, destroys property belonging to others, kills…..should the rest of us who do no harm have to put up with those who kill, destroy, and steal other’s belongings? History has shown that bad behavior is not well tolerated in society. Bad behavior has consequences.
Wseattlite April 20, 2022 (7:13 am)

A lot of feel good ideals that only one disconnected from the realities of human nature could ever endorse – or one that actually intends to destroy society as we know it.
Walker April 20, 2022 (7:14 am)

Fixing societal ills is one thing, but what do you propose we do with the people who have already committed the crimes (including murder in this case)?

Gawdger April 19, 2022 (10:38 pm)

I’m all for abolishing people who won’t prosecute or fulling their judiciary responsibilities. There’s plenty of countries that’ll take them willingly. Canada is a 3hr trip north…good riddance.

Jethro Marx April 19, 2022 (10:43 pm)

I cannot understand people who say we ought to lock up 16-year-olds for the rest of their lives. I don’t think it’s ok to rob but I know that life in prison will fix nothing and fail to act as a deterrent to future offenses. Can we really not figure out how to protect communities while also treating criminals as real people who may need real help? Will we spend our punishment money wisely?

Jim April 20, 2022 (12:15 am)

Did you see there was someone murdered during one of the robberies?
Marina April 20, 2022 (1:36 am)

You lose your right to be treated as a real person when you murder another in cold blood.
Thomas Wood April 20, 2022 (4:44 am)

There is no salvaging these two.The minute they were sent home.They cut off the bracelets and went on another crime spree.They certainly would have killed again!I have no empathy for criminals. Lock them up forever!
In Shock April 20, 2022 (5:20 am)

So robbery and murder is now just a cry for help? They killed someone during a robbery, and then decided they’d be willing to do that again.
Kat April 20, 2022 (6:08 am)

What if they are suspected of robbing ten different stores and known to have committed at least one murder in the process?
Bronson April 20, 2022 (7:19 am)

Locking them up for the rest of their lives will 100% deter future offenses, at least by these individuals. Not sure how you arrived at another conclusion.
- zark00 April 20, 2022 (11:43 am)
  
  and you’re 100% wrong – not sure how you arrived at a completely incorrect conclusion.
  https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/247350.pdftl/dr “the data show long prison sentences do little to deter people from committing future crimes.”
  - Wseattleite April 20, 2022 (8:56 pm)
    
    So how do they commit “future crimes” while in jail? You seem to have missed Bronson’s point.
  - Bronson April 21, 2022 (7:11 am)
    
    Looks like “at least by these individuals” went right over your head Zark00. Maybe even the Justice Dept doesn’t believe what you said since the story is no longer there. ;-)
shotinthefoot April 20, 2022 (8:06 am)

Jethro Marx, a 16 year old is old enough to know that murder is wrong. I guess you’re fine with the judge letting him go if he promises to be a good little boy and not kill anyone else?
snowskier April 20, 2022 (10:22 am)

This wasn’t simple shoplifting, car theft or even purse snatching. This is armed robbery and murder with no stopping their actions when caught. They cut off the bracelets and kept on their crime spree. I don’t know about mandatory life but a good 30-40 years will give them time to grow and mellow until they’re no longer a threat to society. The employee at the Tacoma pot shop, Jordan, would still be alive and at work this week if not for these guys.
- Jethro Marx April 20, 2022 (12:59 pm)
  
  You really think that putting a 16-year-old in jail for 30-40 years will help them grow, mellow, and become non-threatening to society? Isn’t it more likely to yield a middle-aged person with a skewed view of the world and no ability to function socially in society? None of you answered my original questions, but I’ll assume your answer is, “No, we can’t figure out a better way, and no, we don’t care about wasting money on our current system, which actually just creates more crime and more criminals.” You and the others who responded remain difficult to understand. That’s all, although I will say the obvious- no, I don’t think the judge should just let them go, or that crime is ok, or that it’s someone else’s fault, or that this is a cry for help. Also I very much hope those of you who think criminals should lose their “right to be treated as a real person” are not in positions of power. Dehumanizing humans just makes it easier to hate them. See history or current events in Yemen, Ethiopia, Ukraine, etc.

Jeepney April 20, 2022 (7:17 am)

Until the federal government legalizes pot sales and allows shops to take cashless forms of payment, criminals will continue to see the shops as easy targets. Agreed with the majority of the commenters, these guys need a long time away from free society, and the judicial system needs to stop coddling criminals.

flimflam April 20, 2022 (10:13 am)

Completely agree regarding the federal laws regarding these perfectly legal shops and their transactions. You could reasonably argue that the federal rules are responsible for the crimes against these employees – of course the criminals themselves are ultimately to blame for being bad humans but still…

K April 20, 2022 (8:36 am)

The fact that they kept on going with robberies after they murdered someone speaks volumes. It wasn’t a mistake they regret…they just kept on going.

TM April 20, 2022 (11:01 am)

“One time can be a mistake, second time it’s a decision”

Goosey420 April 20, 2022 (8:55 am)

Idiots. I hope they rot in prison. Is it really worth a few bucks? You’d make more in six months at a real job. 16 is not a child anymore. They’re doing all kinds of wilds stuff at 14, people need to wake-up.

T Rex April 20, 2022 (9:24 am)

Jethro, These young THUGS are not virgins when it comes to crime. And if they killed someone you cared about on the second or third outing after being in trouble before, would you still feel the same way? I appreciate your compassion regarding people, but sometimes people are just who they are. We tend to look for blame as a society instead of simply facing the real truth. Some people, in this case young kids cannot and DO NOT care about what is right and what is wrong, And guess what, you cannot participate in these illegal activities or be involved in a murder and not be punished. Living a good life means just that. Living a good life. If you choose bad things, you get bad things in return. Sometimes jail is the only place for you.

zark00 April 20, 2022 (11:52 am)

Not surprised at the pitchforks, it’s pretty common on these posts, am surprised at the complete lack of knowledge about how ineffective long prison terms for juveniles are. They don’t deter future crimes, especially for others not incarcerated, and not even for the ones we lock up. We breed harder, more violent criminals in prisons. These are not guesses, this isn’t my gut feeling, this is the reality of incarceration in America. What they did is horrible. Locking them up so you can forget they exist is literally sticking your head in the sand and hoping things turn out ok. You want this to keep happening, then lock them up for life. You want it to stop, punish them severely with part of that punishment including speaking to people about what they did, why, who they hurt, and how badly it impacted their lives forever – and give them a path, a difficult path, back to rejoining society. If you truly think one act by a teenager, even a heinous act like this, deserves lifetime incarceration with no hope, no possibility or reform, and no future, you shouldn’t get a vote. You are not well informed enough to be making decisions like this.

my vote April 20, 2022 (12:23 pm)

Every one of us gets a vote and I vote prison. Doesn’t the parole process take into account good behavior/repentance/etc? Perhaps they can change for the better at some point, and then have a chance at living life as productive (or at least not harmful) members of society. But my vote is to err on the conservative side and keep them incarcerated until then.
- zark00 April 20, 2022 (2:51 pm)
  
  Fortunately you only get your conservative, uninformed, opinion and no actual vote. Your opinion is worthless as you have zero understanding of the penal justice system in this country and have spent zero time trying to understand it. If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
  - T Rex April 20, 2022 (4:36 pm)
    
    Zarkoo, your idea of how rehab should be is spot on, however, us who have opinions regarding what should be done are entitled to just that. Call it conservative if you want but I think that is a poor assumption based on simply a statement by someone you disagree with. If you speaking from experience with our judicial system, please share. What do you say about the one man in this trio that was arrested and then let go by a judge and got in trouble again? Not sure which one it was but do you really think he understood that he should possibly behave since was given a second chance. He cut OFF his ankle bracelet. Am I suppose to walk up and give him a hug because I don’t understand out penal system?
    - zark00 April 22, 2022 (1:55 pm)
      
      Person described themselves as a conservative. People can try to backtrack for them all they want to. Don’t really care what mental gymnastics you need to engage in to make yourself feel righteous. I say the same thing I said already – deserves severe punishment, but is a young person who can be reformed and will benefit society more if there is a path to reform and reentering society than if you toss them out like garbage. These people are broken. You can throw out the broken thing as garbage, or you can try to fix it. I guess it’s down to whether you believe that any kind of reform is possible or not. How about a drunk driver? We don’t lock them up for life when they kill people. We push them to seek help. It’s seen as a horrible error in judgement, but, one that someone can redeem themselves for. I personally think it’s possible for a 16 year old from a messed up background to exercise incredibly poor judgement, yet still not be straight up evil. You clearly don’t agree. You comment about giving them a hug says it all – you don’t think about this issue realistically,
  - Bronson April 21, 2022 (7:20 am)
    
    Not everyone who doesn’t share your overly empathetic siding with murderers is a conservative. Many, like myself, are life-long Democrats who think that intentionally taking a life deserves losing the freedom of your own life, forever. These individuals should get to have the rest of their lives to think and understand what they did was wrong. They can speak to people about what they did and its impact as part of that punishment. You also seem to think that we should have a “reform” system. We don’t. It’s called the justice system and while nothing will bring back the loved ones that these individuals murdered (allegedly), locking them up and throwing away the key is the only equitable outcome if seeking justice.
WS Res April 20, 2022 (1:15 pm)

Interesting that this story came out today on Crosscut – a rare example of someone who did reform in prison and is now trying to help others from similar backgrounds. The impact of incarceration on family systems (children, siblings, cousins, etc.) is rarely considered as part of what drives ongoing crime and violence. You have to actually get to know and listen to the people and family members in order to understand it.
Mellow Kitty April 20, 2022 (2:30 pm)

A friend of mine in highschool was shot in the face and murdered by another highschool student – simply because my friend looked at the other guy’s girlfriend. The murderer was 17. He was not charged as an adult and spent less than 1 year incarcerated. When he got out, he was killed while participating in a drive-by shooting – that, yes, ended up with the death another teenager, the target of the drive-by, btw. Yes. I do get a vote. My friend was murdered. It took karma for him to get justice. The legal system did just what you suggested – gave the murderer a second chance. The results of that decision speak for themselves.

Pessoa April 21, 2022 (8:50 am)

Society is not compelled, morally or legally, to bestow any favors on those who have threatened – terroized – others with bodily harm, or have inflicted bodily harm. Age is a biological marker only and psychopathic tendencies can exhibit themselves early in life, irrespective of social-economic standing, sex, or race; the legal defintion of “adult” and “juvenile” may – or may not – be relevant. There may be some who can be safely reintegrated into society after prison, but incarceration is not primarily about redemption, nor rehabilitation, nor revenge, it is about keeping those who are a menace to others away from society.

zark00 April 22, 2022 (2:10 pm)

If you’re trying to deter crime, life long incarceration is ineffective. 30 years in prison and a mandate to speak publicly about what you did, why, the damage you did, the pain you caused, the guilt and pain you now live with, and what it cost you, your friends, family and community, is much more effective in deterring others from committing similar crimes.
- Pessoa April 22, 2022 (9:13 pm)
  
  You presented a thoughtful exposition of your position, but this is one of the unbridgeable philosophical chasms between people, a bit like those who support and oppose the death penalty, it transcends political parties, religious beliefs, gender, race – some support the death penalty and some do not. The complex machinery spent nuturing, encouraging, assisting, coddling, career “advice-ing” an incarcerated individual who has devastated innocent lives seems to me to be odious and macabre, to be frank. This isn’t “lock em up and throw away the key,” but it isn’t far off the mark.

Sorry, comment time is over.