CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Two Thursday arrests

| Crime | West Seattle news

Here’s what happened after court appearances this afternoon for two people arrested in West Seattle Thursday afternoon/evening.

HELICOPTER SEARCH: The most notable arrest was that of a 33-year-old man who became the subject of an air and ground search for two hours after being spotted naked, possibly with a “knife or box cutter,” near the Fauntleroy ferry terminal. He was found in a brushy area between the 10200 blocks of 47th SW and Marine View Drive. (A commenter says the machete police reported finding near him was taken from their nearby yard.) He was released ~~after today’s initial appearance~~. We haven’t yet seen the documents we requested from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, so we don’t know why, and whether he might still face charges. The jail docket shows he spent four days in jail last month after being arrested elsewhere in King County on suspicion of trespassing and resisting arrest.

ADDED 7:39 PM: Moments after publishing this, Casey McNerthney from the KCPAO explained what happened, saying he wasn’t even sent before a judge because the case was weak:

There was little information in the initial document we received that showed his intent to commit a crime or clearly steal something, which we need to clearly show in a probable cause argument before a judge. The house was not lived in. That and a detail that a worker at the construction site offered him a cookie and then he left works against our argument for probable cause for burglary on a felony matter (rather than criminal trespass).

In previous unrelated cases, courts have only found probable cause for criminal trespass when someone is in a space unlawfully but without a clear intent to commit a crime – and in Seattle that gross misdemeanor crime of criminal trespass has to go to the City Attorney’s Office.

But if more information emerges, McNerthney says, charges could still eventually be filed.

BURGLARY SUSPECT: As mentioned briefly in our coverage of that story – and by two commenters – another man was arrested on suspicion of burglarizing a house north of Fauntleroy Park. He is 30 years old and probable cause was found this afternoon to hold him for investigation of burglary. The court document says police who were “in the area on another call” saw him enter a residential garage and start “rummaging around.” The house’s resident was home at the time and said the suspect was a stranger who didn’t have permission to be there, so he was arrested on suspicion of residential burglary. The KCPAO’s office says bail wasn’t addressed today – that’ll be at another hearing. Records show the suspect has one prior felony conviction in King County, for assault, seven years ago.

WA September 22, 2023 (7:36 pm)

I can’t be the only one wondering why there was a machete just randomly in someone’s yard.

KT September 22, 2023 (8:00 pm)

Hacking blackberry bushes perhaps?
Anon September 22, 2023 (8:09 pm)

My neighbors and I use them for cutting back brush, blackberry vines, bamboo, chopping up things for compost (produce and things from the garden that can’t be eaten because of pests or whatever reason), they’re useful for all kinds of things around the yard.
- MW September 22, 2023 (8:46 pm)
  
  It’s an excellent non-gas powered tool for cutting back brush, vines, and small trees like hazel & vine maple. We have several and use them ALL the time.
  - Barb September 23, 2023 (12:01 am)
    
    MW – treasure the Hazel and Vine Maple which are very important native trees for supporting wildlife. All birds use the Hazel – crows favor the twigs for building nests, Jays and squirrels eat the nuts, the branches provide good cover for the small and medium size birds – Bushtits, Warblers, Chickadees, Robins, Towhees to feed on insects living in the lichen. The flowers of the Vine Maple attract Hummers and bees.
- NotSoSure September 22, 2023 (11:44 pm)
  
  How about a hedge-trimmer????They have nice ones at Home Depot/True Value, battery powered, very efficient and fairly inexpensive. You should take a look at modern tech……
  - Mike September 23, 2023 (4:42 am)
    
    Because sometimes all you need is a machete.
  - waikikigirl September 23, 2023 (7:35 am)
    
    Yes “modern tech” is good— but then there’s nothing better than to go outside breathe the air, work up a sweat and get some blisters and calluses on your hands.
  - Oh Seattle September 23, 2023 (9:31 am)
    
    Why? The manual tools work just fine and you get some exercise using them. Just put them away when you aren’t using them, which should be done anyway unless you want your tools to get stolen or rust.
  - Anon September 23, 2023 (3:32 pm)
    
    Unfortunately a hedge trimmer doesn’t cut through some of those things, they break, and money is pretty tight for me these days. The garden machete was $10 from Maclondons and hasn’t let me down in 20 years. If you’re volunteering to chip in on some fancy new electric tools though, I’m not gonna say no! I don’t think people are really going to feel that much better about “naked man wielding electric hedgetrimmers” over the current story, I could be wrong though!
The King September 23, 2023 (9:17 am)

I’m with you WA, you wondered what it’s doing in someone’s backyard and get a bunch of explanations as to what a machete is used for. We all know what to do with a machete, most people put them away when they’re done using them is the point here. Maybe they were taking a break from yard work is the only thing I can think of and planned to resume.
- Seriously? September 23, 2023 (12:33 pm)
  
  Yes, it’s plainly the homeowner’s fault
- Anon September 23, 2023 (3:39 pm)
  
  I’m old and gotta take breaks now, there’s a lot to get done in the yard this time of year. Wouldn’t say no if you wanted to come help out, your majesty! :)

WasteOfResources September 22, 2023 (8:48 pm)

Glad we got folks riled up, wasted resources all to try to capture a guy doing absolutely nothing wrong. SPD has the resources to go on a wild goose chase to put fear into the community, especially one particular “undesirable,” but sits by while there are rampant car theifs, etc. Tells me where their priorities are: creating an image of necessity rather than being useful for public safety like they try to convince us they are. No idea how other posters will try to justify this flagrant waste of time.

EVGuy September 22, 2023 (9:47 pm)

Did we know he was doing absolutely nothing wrong… at the time? No, there was a guy with a big knife running around residential areas, potentially naked, which would add the bonus of being likely intoxicated and therefore more unpredictable. I for one am fine with people not being allowed to run around naked waving a big knife, and it’s not like the police shot him dead from a tank – he was unharmed and released apparently not too long after. SPD also goes after car thieves, it’s just after the car has been stolen, unless they can catch someone in the act. Given the manpower shortage it’s not realistic for SPD to setup undercover car theft sting operations all over town.
- ThisCommunityHates September 23, 2023 (2:39 am)
  
  dude, did you even read the above post? there was nothing to charge the guy with. you think if there was credible accounts of him brandishing a weapon around people he wouldn’t have been charged? read the actual report narratives before spreading misinformation. y’all sicken me how quick you are the continue to spread rumors because… i have no idea? all i can assume is you want the state to continue to push the boot into the neck of people you hate. read more, post less.
K September 22, 2023 (9:51 pm)

Sure, it had to of been the police’s fault for responding to numerous 911 calls of a naked person behaving erratically around dozens of families during their afternoon commute. A naked person that ended up WIELDING A MACHETE. Much like the guy that got arrested, your mind is a prison and you lost your way home with that comment.
Sam September 22, 2023 (10:20 pm)

Sheesh! Can’t a guy walk around naked with a machete without neighbors and the police getting all in your business?
Rhonda September 23, 2023 (4:39 am)

So, if my 6′ 4″, 225-pound linebacker nephew was naked and wielding a machete while standing in front of your house on the sidewalk you wouldn’t want SPD to remove him? Please 😂
- CAM September 24, 2023 (9:51 am)
  
  But none of those are the facts Rhonda. You can make up hypothetical scenarios including any scary sounding facts you want but that doesn’t make them consistent with what happened here or what was being reported.

Logic is gone September 22, 2023 (9:27 pm)

Hey Wasteofresources!I listened to the scanner during the whole pursuit, Did you? YOU are the classic Seattle person who has let this city lapse into lawlessness. There was a report of a man running through yards, crazed, trying to enter houses with a machete. What should the police do with that information.? They had no more, no less information.Wasteofresources, does your job require any form of logical reasoning to make sound decisions?. If you had a similar premise that someone was in your office, house or yard with a machete, would you like to call 911 and have the dispatcher respond that you’ll need to call back when someone is killed?Do me a favor, start listening nightly to a police scanner so you can become a more educated citizen on what police have to deal with daily.

Brian O September 22, 2023 (10:30 pm)

Does the name Ryan Cox ring a bell to anyone? Didn’t he go on to stab someone and was a documented character known to be a problem?

WSB September 22, 2023 (11:14 pm)

Yes, we covered him extensively.
ThisCommunityHates September 23, 2023 (2:42 am)

so because there’s an instance of violent crime somewhere, you project that onto any case you think is applicable? thank Allah above you are no where near the justice system. it’s already messed up enough as is

CAM September 23, 2023 (12:02 am)

These comments are completely opposite of the facts presented by people who describe themselves as directly involved. There are people who are saying that they are the owners of the machete, that he didn’t have the machete until shortly before he was arrested, and the police say he didn’t have the machete when he was arrested. So, please do tell, when was he “run[ning] around naked waving a big knife?” If people were calling 911 and reporting he was armed throughout the whole incident and he wasn’t, don’t you think that’s a problem? What do you think that says about our community and the value we have for this individual’s life?

WW Resident September 23, 2023 (4:37 am)

Don’t you think assuming that people who called 911 and said he had a weapon were lying is a problem. You’re making assumptions when in fact the people who called 911 at that point in time did so because at that point in time he did have a weapon. How’s that so difficult to understand?
- Lordy September 23, 2023 (12:00 pm)
  
  Obviously from the stream of comments here on WSB, many people were making assumptions while playing password with panicky rumors.
  What about those who reported the box-cutter?
  How can one confuse a hand sized box cutter and a two foot long machete?
  A machete is a common yard tool that only becomes a weapon when it is used as a weapon.
  Same as a shovel.
  Carrying either is not a crime.
  In this case every report is that he did not use the machete as a weapon.
  Being naked is not necessarily a crime in Seattle.
  Being a naked, lost maybe drunk, drugged, disturbed soul suffering obvious distress in Fauntleroy apparently warrants an all out military style police response.
  I look to the time when we have compassionate responses to such people in distress.
CarDriver September 23, 2023 (7:06 am)

Cam. We value OUR lives and OUR property. Apologizing to bad/deviant/illegal behavior speaks volumes about wanting crime/bad/deviant to be normalized. Sad.
Brian September 23, 2023 (8:47 am)

These are folks who love to skip around facts in order to produce the narrative that fits what they already think happened. And if it didn’t happen, they’re convinced it could have happened or is actively happening elsewhere.

Jessica September 23, 2023 (8:07 am)

So, in a public indecency, trespassing, public disturbance case like this can’t we hold someone for a mental health evaluation? Our streets are not safer just letting the dangerously intoxicated walk off. Did he sober up while in custody and seem fine? Was he evaluated over this likely break reality? Did he have a plan for ongoing services-mental healthcare when he left? Our laws and mental health/drug rehab services need some work. Where’s the humanity, for him, for the neighborhood?Machetes are made for fossil-free yard work. They’re great tools when used as intended.

Rhonda September 23, 2023 (10:59 am)

Intoxicate suspects often don’t even realize what they were arrested for or what their actions were when they sober-up in a jail cell. This perpetrator was witnessed consuming multiple beers and likely had other alcoholic beverages prior. Drunk humans are delusional. If they are no longer displaying delusional behavior after the alcohol leaves their system, then no psychological evaluation or hold is required.

An observer September 23, 2023 (3:17 pm)

If you are running around naked, attempting to enter people’s homes, you should probably be taken out of whatever situation you are in and placed in one where you are not a threat to yourself. Many people have identified that jail is a terrible solution, but the “it’s not a crime, so why do we need to do anything about it? Let them be free!” mentality is exactly why there are tons of broken, run-down human beings screaming at the voices in their heads and then falling asleep under the eaves. The streets should not be the behavioral health wing of a hospital.

Curious September 25, 2023 (12:37 am)

it’s almost as if the same people telling you prison isn’t a solution are also the ones saying we need more mental health resources. almost like they’re outlining what needs to be done. but folks would rather pay for and support the prison industrial complex b/c it fits their idea of justice being revenge or locking up undesirables out of sight.

Marine View Drive September 23, 2023 (3:47 pm)

I can only speak to what happened in my yard. The machete was hidden behind a retaining wall. Our gardener uses it for various tasks. The guy was creeping through the edge of the yard and went behind the wall. He ran right past the machete, stopped and turned around and went back to grab it. He hid in the bushes on the edge of the yard until the police came running down the driveway. When he saw them he turned and ran. He jumped down over the steep bank into some nasty blackberry bushes. He was caught in the thick brush not far from there. Just to clear up the rumors….

Sorry, comment time is over.