CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Pond gunfire suspect charged, told not to ‘brandish firearms’

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed a charge of unlawful gun possession against the 16-year-old arrested after three people were reported to have been seen firing a gun into Seola Pond. We reported on the incident one week ago today; the 16-year-old was one of two people detained nearby. According to charging documents, the witness who reported this to police was unable to identify exactly who had been firing the gun. But police found a loaded 9mm gun – same caliber as the three casings found by the pond – in the backpack that was in the suspect’s possession. They say he told them it wasn’t his gun or backpack, claiming an unidentified person gave him the backpack. The police report also notes, “A records check of the gun was performed, but no information could be located about who the owner of the gun was.” The 16-year-old, who has no record, has pleaded not guilty and remains on electronic home monitoring (as ordered last week), with the judge adding this condition to stipulated rules of staying in that form of custody: “Respondent shall not brandish firearms or apparent firearms on social media.”

Lucy June 17, 2024 (5:52 pm)

Wow. I bet that 16 yo will immediately turn his life around and never get in trouble again! That stern talking to was very scary, I’m sure.

TB June 17, 2024 (6:22 pm)

Because locking him up for a few months would turn him around?
- SlimJim June 17, 2024 (7:38 pm)
  
  Or it might give others the idea they shouldn’t do it if they could be locked up for it. Not rocket science.
  - flimflam June 17, 2024 (8:30 pm)
    
    Or maybe to least spare the public from being exposed to him for a while?
  - Derek June 18, 2024 (5:15 am)
    
    Because the prison system has worked for an entire century at curbing crime… oh wait no it hasn’t.
  - JimsSlim June 18, 2024 (8:27 am)
    
    Yeah, except imprisonment as a deterrent doesn’t actually work like that… Even the national institute for justice doesn’t think it does
- Shanti June 17, 2024 (8:56 pm)
  
  Because, we as the public, shouldn’t be put in danger because of his horrific decisions. Duh.
  - TB June 18, 2024 (9:31 am)
    
    You seem to have a distorted view of what happens when kids like this are incarcerated. They don’t automatically learn a lesson. More often than not they build a network so they know who to call when they get out and everything escalates.

EVGuy June 17, 2024 (5:54 pm)

How about some charges for the adults – the parents/guardians of the minor child in possession of a handgun?

Rob June 17, 2024 (7:01 pm)

At 16 this young man new exactly what he was doing just like when you bower your mom an dad’s car when there out of town.

HM June 17, 2024 (8:20 pm)

And how about some community service? There is a lot of !itter in Highland Park and Westwood.

Just wondering June 18, 2024 (10:57 am)

What about cleaning up around Seola Pond in waders?

WS Guy June 17, 2024 (9:35 pm)

I sure hope they find the real owner of the backpack with the gun in it.

Throw the broom not the book June 17, 2024 (10:22 pm)

What he did was stupid and dangerous, but nobody got hurt. Jail will just complete turning him into who the comment section already says he is; Let him clean litter in the neighborhood streets for the summer.

Rhonda June 17, 2024 (11:34 pm)

Some jail time would do him some good. Youth detention at the new regional youth detention center is more like an extended stay at a high school than a prison. Then he could spend another few weeks picking up trash in the community or removing graffiti.
- Bbron June 18, 2024 (2:31 am)
  
  if you think “Some jail time would do him some good” you’re already demonstrably wrong
- K June 18, 2024 (6:23 am)
  
  True. In High School kids learn skills that are useful and necessary to be productive adults, and may possibly (gasp) get positive reinforcement when they do things right. You have to go to adult jail to meet with the folks who will help you hone your petty (or even major) crime skills. Let’s definitely send him to that place.
  - Rhonda June 18, 2024 (6:42 pm)
    
    K, he’s 16 and not eligible for adult prison for 2 more years. The new KC youth detention center is very nice and it’s a school-type atmosphere. I’ve spent several weeks there, it’s very nice, the professional staff are great, and it’s far better place than the streets for youths. It’s a resource center for the needs of youth in crisis mode.

Bob June 18, 2024 (3:36 am)

I have been to the juvenile detention. It is definitely an eye opener. Lots of structure. It used to be two man cell with a big day room. They had each offender do their own laundry in the unit. Also you go to school while you are there.But you also learn how to be a better criminal. So there is that. I’m not a judge so I am not going to decide what the punishment would be. I think of a lot worse things that they could have been doing with the gun. They weren’t in the junction doing armed robbery.

anonyme June 18, 2024 (5:51 am)

Agree that he needs to do some kind of community service, and should receive an extended sentence if he refuses to divulge the source of the gun. And then the gun owner needs to be charged.

Greg June 18, 2024 (6:27 am)

There is a way to educate this kid about gun safety with mentorship and counseling. As adults, we fail these children when we blame and criminalize them. We often form a Lynch Mob when we should be a Big Brother. Too quick to penalize, too slow to bolster.

snowskier June 18, 2024 (8:44 am)

Totally agree with some sort of community service sentence. How about spending 200 hours this summer picking up litter and painting over graffiti. It’s not fun and it’s a great way to ruin a summer and hopefully get him to think twice next time, which I think it the point.

T Rex June 18, 2024 (9:08 am)

If he has never been on trouble before, then jail or juvenile detention will either do one of two things: Scare the living HELL out of him or hurt his feelings and he comes out with a worse attitude than he had before. There is a 50-50 chance here, he needs to get on the CLUE BUS that his stupid choices have consequences. Life is hard but you get what you give back. At 16 years old, he knows enough about guns that they are dangerous. Good Lord, it is a weapon.

Jeff June 18, 2024 (11:11 am)

Stop throwing kids in cages. This is fine. Community service is fine but think BEYOND CAGES (Jail). It doesn’t work. Century of data proving it doesn’t work.

EJ June 18, 2024 (1:48 pm)

Perhaps you’d like to take this young law abiding fellow into your home to make sure he stays out of trouble?We’ve been giving these kids slaps on the wrist for years now, and juvenile crime has only skyrocketed. Youth detention in Seattle offers these criminals services if there really is trouble in their home life or if they have mental health issues. More likely than not, he’s just a rotten kid and needs to be removed from the community before he seriously injures or kills someone. I frequent this pond all the time and now I’ll be giving my solo trips there a second thought. Law abiding citizens shouldn’t have to modify their lives to make the lives of criminals easier.

DC June 18, 2024 (2:46 pm)

I love how the comments section in stories like this is just sentencing suggestions. Who needs law school, sentencing guidelines, or precedent when you have the WSB! Hope the judges are reading!!!

CarDriver June 18, 2024 (6:09 pm)

DC. What’s your solution? Do nothing but call the perpetrators the only victims?
- K June 19, 2024 (1:07 pm)
  
  Address the social issues that lead to the vast majority of crime.

Curtis June 20, 2024 (6:49 pm)

This is getting out of control, these kids should be named and publicly shamed along with their parents. Shot sheltering them!They should be held until court and then kept in jail. If an adult negligently allowed them access to the gun, they should be prosecuted.The school districts are failing us, the justice system is failing us, our neighbor parents are failing us. People need to start handing this ourselves.

Sorry, comment time is over.