CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Five charges in domestic-violence incident in which police rescued children

A little over a week ago, we reported on a Saturday afternoon incident that started in West Seattle and ended in Boulevard Park – with police rescuing three children from the car their father allegedly stole from their mother. The father, 30-year-old Jose M. Alcantar-Hernandez, is now (updated) charged, and the documents say it’s not the first domestic-violence case against him in their 10-year marriage.

That’s a screengrab from video recorded by a witness near the start of the May 3 incident (received since our previous report), with the suspect standing on his wife’s moving car on California SW, trying to get in. Court documents say he had released from jail two days earlier – after pleading guilty in a previous domestic-violence case involving her. Despite a no-contact order, he and his wife spent time together, and on Saturday morning, she gave him a ride to West Seattle, with their children – ages 4, 3, and 1 1/2 – in the car.

At the California/Charlestown 7-Eleven, prosecutors say, he got out of the car but lingered, and when his wife tried to leave, he jumped in front of the car to try to prevent her from doing so. A passerby tried to intervene; she again tried to drive away, and Alcantar-Hernandez jumped onto the running board, yelling at her to stop, but she didn’t, so he then smashed a window to reach in and unlock the door. His wife then stopped in a median near California/Dakota; he grabbed the phone she had been using to call 911; she jumped out of the car as he moved into the passenger seat and drove away, though the charging documents note he does not have a valid license. The charging documents elaborate on how police found him:

An SPD officer working an emphasis shift nearby overheard the radio broadcast for this call and logged to it to assist looking for the vehicle. He observed (the victim’s) Nissan drive into the gas station [on Des Moines Memorial Drive] and park at the gas pumps.

Shortly thereafter, that officer ran after him for three-plus blocks before taking the suspect into custody. The children were unharmed. Alcantar-Hernandez is charged with these five charges: Theft Of Motor Vehicle, Domestic Violence Misdemeanor Violation Of A Court Order, Interfering With Domestic Violence Reporting, Malicious Mischief in the Third Degree – Domestic Violence, and Obstructing A Law Enforcement Officer. According to the charging documents, Alcantar-Hernandez’s criminal history along with the other domestic-violence cases includes DUI and driving with a suspended license, and juvenile convictions including burglary and unlawful gun possession. He remains in the King County Regional Justice Center, where he is scheduled for arraignment one week from tomorrow, with bail set at $125,000.

k May 12, 2025 (11:59 am)

Interesting that there are no kidnapping charges. He will be sentenced this coming Friday for another more recent Burglary case.

Sage K. May 12, 2025 (2:23 pm)

I think no kidnapping charges as the kids are his and he is still married to their mother. In WA it is called custodial interference if you take, retain, or conceal a child from the other parent.I believe that in WA even if married, there has to be an official parenting plan or custody order in place for that to happen.So even though he took the kids, he probably didn’t meet the legal requirements for the charge.

DRW May 12, 2025 (12:09 pm)

Repeat offender out of jail for only 2-3 days! I feel that bail should be increased.

Jake May 12, 2025 (12:54 pm)

WSB, I am curious, of the tons of domestic violence related stuff on the beat in West Seattle area, why this is handpicked as news? Is there a process for how that is determined? No shade either, just curious.

WSB May 12, 2025 (1:08 pm)

“Hand-picked” isn’t an applicable term, but in news organizations large and small (and I’ve worked at all sizes over 45 years), you make editorial judgments – there’s never enough people to cover absolutely everything. The police radio traffic crackles all day with all kinds of cases, domestic violence and otherwise. We report on only a percentage, and there are many we don’t hear about at all because they are dispatched screen to screen (that’s where reader reports, or texted tips “what are five police cars doing at X address?”, are helpful). In this particular case, the fact a guy allegedly smashed through the window of a car with a woman and children inside, on a busy arterial in the middle of the day, and took off with the kids seemed newsworthy to me – regardless of whether it was his wife and his kids (which I didn’t know at the time of the incident and I don’t know if police initially knew either) as I sat there at the desk that afternoon, so I wrote about it. And we try to follow up on cases we write about, though that’s been harder lately too (took me several days and tries to get these court documents) – TR
Marcus May 12, 2025 (6:16 pm)

Riding on the running board in the center of WS, breaking a car window. Yup, that is pretty darn reportable. But actually WSB, I think all domestic violent issues ought to be reported to illuminate this issue, but sadly that might be over consuming time wise.