CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUPS: Charges in hate crime, gunfire cases

Charges are now filed in two cases on which we reported previously:

HATE-CRIME, BURGLARY CHARGES: On Tuesday we followed up on the weekend arrests of a husband and wife accused of attacking, threatening, and using racial slurs against a neighbor in his own apartment. Today the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against the two. 38-year-old Rosalyn J. Gearhart and 40-year-old Joshua J. Kramer are each charged with one count of residential burglary and one count of hate crime, in which the court documents allege they “maliciously and intentionally and because of their perception of the color and race of (the victim), did cause physical injury to (him).” These court documents include the same narrative we summarized extensively in Tuesday’s report, with the added detail that the victim’s “5-year-old daughter was inside the apartment during the entire incident, witnessing the assault.” The charging papers say Kramer “has out of state convictions for felony-level assault and terroristic threats” while Gearhart has no known criminal record. Both remain in jail, her bail set at $15,000, his at $50,000.

ASSAULT CHARGES IN GUNFIRE CASE: A gunfire incident in November that put a school campus into shelter-in-place has led to felony assault charges. We reported on the incident November 7; it happened around 10:30 that morning. Now 19-year-old Kenneth M. Haggith is charged with two counts of second-degree assault. The charging documents allege he shot at a car containing two people – a 16-year-old boy who is charged with shooting at Haggith in an earlier incident, and that teenager’s mother. Prosecutors say mother and son were sitting in a car at Roxhill Park that morning when a car pulled up behind them and they saw someone they identified as Haggith hanging out of the passenger window with a shotgun. They heard gunfire and decided to leave; prosecutors say the car containing Haggith followed them and that he shot at them repeatedly; police reported finding six shotgun shells in the Roxhill Park parking lot. No one was hurt but the victims’ car was damaged and the multi-program campus at 30th/Roxbury went into shelter-in-place. Witnesses provided police with a photo, phone video, and a license-plate number that led them to Haggith, a Renton resident. They finally heard from the mother late that night; she identified Haggith as the shooter. According to court documents, the dispute between her son and the defendant is apparently “over a female.” Haggith pleaded not guilty at arraignment and was ordered into electronic home detention.

9 Replies to "CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUPS: Charges in hate crime, gunfire cases"

  • Rhonda January 20, 2023 (12:20 am)

    Haggith is a proven danger to the community (driving around with a shotgun) and should be held behind bars awaiting trial.

  • Concerned January 20, 2023 (7:02 am)

    This is concerning; “ a 16-year-old boy who is charged with shooting at Haggith in an earlier incident” So the victim also has a gun and shoots at people. Was he punished? Can a 16 year old legally have a gun in Seattle?

  • SLJ January 20, 2023 (7:11 am)

    The 5-year-old witnessed the assault–can some sort of child endangerment be added? What a horrific trauma for her.

  • 26THAVE January 20, 2023 (9:13 am)

    Was the 16 y/o charged in a previous incident, or did the 16 y/o shoot at the 19 y/o the same morning? (a monday morning where the 16y/o should be in school?) Questions… both of these people need serious help.

    • WSB January 20, 2023 (9:58 am)

      As reported above, “a 16-year-old boy who is charged with shooting at Haggith in an earlier incident.” As not mentioned, but is included in the charging documents, the boy was reported to be on his way to work that morning.

  • shotinthefoot January 20, 2023 (10:01 am)

    seriously, that poor kid. heartbreaking to have to witness that. 

  • 26THAVE January 20, 2023 (1:08 pm)

    Interesting, Per WA L&I, Minors are not allowed to work during school hours, as the priority should be school. I don’t think that Monday was a holiday. I don’t know everything, but that seems odd.

    • WSB January 20, 2023 (2:28 pm)

      The same page says employers can apply for exemptions.
      https://www.lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/youth-employment/hours-of-work
      There is no further information about the situation, nor are the charges contingent on what the victims were doing at the time or why, only that they were shot at and this is the person charged with doing it.

  • Mike January 20, 2023 (2:07 pm)

    So this guy shoots a shotgun at someone and court sends him home.  

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