Three notes in West Seattle Crime Watch:
CHILD-PORNOGRAPHY INVESTIGATION: Thursday morning, a reader texted us about what appeared to be a multi-agency warrant raid at a house in Upper Alki. No information was available about it until this SPD post today, and tonight we’ve found out more via court documents. In the initial post, police said, “Detectives with Seattle Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit took (the 37-year-old suspect) into custody Thursday morning following a lengthy investigation related to Child Sexual Abuse Material.” They say he confessed “to uploading CSAM material and communicating with others about chatting online with minors” and was booked into the King County Jail. He is not yet charged but had a hearing this afternoon, at which his bail was set at $50,000; he has since posted bond and been released, according to the jail register. Probable-cause documents say the investigation started last May, when an Internet Service Provider reported “that a user had uploaded one or more files containing depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct to their account.” Detectives subsequently identified the suspect via internet and phone records. According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, conditions of the suspect’s release include “no contact with minors without exception, and to not access the Internet without monitoring software.”
TARGET STANDOFF VERDICT: Last week we reported that the trial had begun for 32-year-old Timothy A. Clemans, charged with attempted first-degree kidnapping for trying to take hostages at knifepoint in the Westwood Village Target store last year. An hours-long standoff ensued. The trial, in which Clemans was representing himself, was expected to last up to two weeks, but our check of online court files tonight reveals it lasted just one week. According to court documents, Clemans was found guilty as charged, with the added finding that he was armed with a deadly weapon. He is scheduled for sentencing before King County Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson on April 7th.
ARSON ARRAIGNMENT POSTPONED AGAIN: The man charged with arson in the two-alarm 17th/Barton apartment fire, 35-year-old Ermiyas N. Woldearegay, has yet to be arraigned, though four weeks have passed since charges were filed. Court documents show his first date was postponed because he was “medically unavailable”; the second and third dates, he refused to come to court. The most recent document indicated Woldearegay’s defense lawyer was hoping to meet with him to see if the issue of competency “needs to be raised.” However, the document also said Woldearegay had been refusing jail visits.
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