CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Harbor Avenue suspects charged

Charges have been filed against the two men whose Harbor Avenue arrests – which started with police investigating a parking violation – were reported here Tuesday. First, the suspect charged with a felony: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged 27-year-old David Valdovinos, now listed as a Des Moines resident, with first-degree unlawful possession of a gun. According to the charging documents, the gun officers spotted in, and seized from, his 2006 Honda Civic early Saturday was a “Springfield .40mm pistol with a round in the chamber” and had been stolen in a burglary in Tacoma in 2016. These images are from the charging document:

Valdovinos cannot legally possess any gun because he is a convicted felon; the documents say he was convicted of three felonies as a juvenile in 2011 – child rape, unlawful imprisonment with sexual motivation, and burglary. He was not charged with possession of a stolen firearm because, the case detective wrote, “There is insufficient evidence to establish the knowledge element by Valdovinos that the firearm was a stolen gun.” He claimed to officers that he had bought it from a friend in Portland for $700. The charging papers say he was also found in possession of a “small baggie of cocaine,” though no drug charge is filed. Meantime, Valdovinos remains jailed in lieu of $25,000 (bail cannot be changed from the initial amount set unless significant new evidence is brought to light).

His passenger early Saturday, 24-year-old Nayel G. Orduno-Araujo of Graham, is charged with two misdemeanors, unlawfully carrying a pistol, and resisting arrest. Case documents filed by the City Attorney’s Office say Orduno-Araujo was concealing a “loaded M&P 9mm” handgun but admitted he did not have a concealed-pistol license. There is no other background on the gun, which police had said in the initial summary also was stolen; he was said to be in possession of 27 grams of fentanyl but no drug charge was filed. The documents say the City Attorney’s Office wanted bail set at $5,000 but a judge set it at $3,000; he too remains in jail.

14 Replies to "CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Harbor Avenue suspects charged"

  • Grilled Cheese January 29, 2025 (10:11 pm)

    So no charges for drug possession? Hmm. So I guess I don’t need to worry about having cocaine and meth in my car. WTH!

    • WSB January 29, 2025 (11:29 pm)

      There could be other charges added later.

    • Question Authority January 30, 2025 (8:10 am)

      27 grams is clearly a trafficking amount and should be a Federal charge and Federal time.

      • K January 30, 2025 (2:57 pm)

        I think the feds have their hands full with back-and-forth executive orders, loss of agency heads, and resignation buyouts.  Not much capacity left to file charges on random dudes in Seattle when your agency is in chaos.

  • CarDriver January 30, 2025 (5:54 am)

    Also speaks volumes about legal gun owners cavalier attitudes about gun safety.  Awful hard to steal guns if they’re properly stored in a gun safe and properly and legally handled otherwise.

    • Examine Yourself January 30, 2025 (12:13 pm)

      You never pass up any opportunity to point out other peoples’ flaws, do you?

      • My two cents January 30, 2025 (7:13 pm)

        Gotta say that leaving a firearm in a parked car overnight … come on, the phrase “common sense” has gotta be up there … SMH. 

    • Jim P. January 30, 2025 (12:44 pm)

      And cars would not be stolen if they were kept in vaults with the engine disabled.
      And jewelry thefts would diminish if people stopped wearing stuff in public.
      There is a rational balance,
      If you need a gun you need it Right Now.
      Criminals have, oddly, been known to steal safes.
      Even rather large ones.

  • West Seattle Bubble January 30, 2025 (2:09 pm)

    According to Chat GPT 27 grams of fentanyl is enough to kill approx. 13,500 people. I sincerely hope he is charged for that and prosecuted severely. 

    • Crag January 30, 2025 (9:57 pm)

      ChatGPT just makes up garbage information, and it is also famously bad at math. Find a better way to look things up.

      • Neighbor February 8, 2025 (9:55 pm)

        I agree.But the math roughly correct. 2 milligrams is considered a lethal dose. There are 27,000 milligrams in 27 grams. That’s 13,500 doses of 2mg. 

  • .40mm January 30, 2025 (4:25 pm)

    “Springfield .40mm pistol” has to be either 40 s&w (0.4″, 10mm), or 9mm, yea?  .40mm is a needle, and 40mm is a standard caliber for anti-aircraft / anti-ship cannons.  Do errors like that in charging documents matter? (I assume not?)

    • WSB January 30, 2025 (5:15 pm)

      This is exactly how it’s described in the police report, which is why I put it in quotes.

      • .40mm January 30, 2025 (6:46 pm)

        Yea I understand it’s a literal quote from the charging documents.  What I don’t understand is when clerical errors like that matter or not.  I guess maybe that’s a question for a lawyer who knows WA state crim pro.

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