WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Man jailed after window vandalism

Those rocks are what police say they found in the pocket of a 49-year-old man who is in the King County Jail this afternoon, accused of window vandalism in The Junction on Tuesday. We heard some of the incident play out on police radio and requested the report narrative today. It says a 911 call came in at 12:47 pm Tuesday about a business window that had just been broken at Washington Management Company in the 4500 block of California SW, by a man subsequently seen “throwing rocks from the roadway at cars and passeersby.” With a description, police found the suspect near 40th SW and SW Oregon. The report narrative says employees of the business had confronted the suspect after the window was broken, and described him as “mumbling to himself and appeared to be experiencing a mental health crisis,” the officer wrote. They said he ran away after being confronted; one witness had taken a phone photo and sent it to police to help identify the suspect. Police arrested him and found “a handful of rocks” in his pocket before taking him to the King County Jail, where he was booked for investigation of malicious mischief.

According to the police report, the business estimated replacing the large broken window will cost about $3,000. We’ve been working on a story about other businesses who’ve dealt with similar crimes and the city program that attempts to help with the cost. We hope to publish that report later today. Meantime, the suspect is likely to have had a probable-cause hearing today, and we’ll update with any results of that.

WSRob December 17, 2025 (3:33 pm)

He’s out on 3rd Ave now getting on a bus to West Seattle.

WSB December 17, 2025 (9:35 pm)

Nope, still in jail.

Marcus December 17, 2025 (4:11 pm)

Mental health concerns are becoming such an issue where we need to help people in crisis even if they refuse help. A compassionate society should not allow people in crisis to continue to be in crisis perpetually.

Actualperson December 17, 2025 (5:05 pm)

You hit the nail on the head. Won’t happen though as there’s too many “caring” people who believe that waiting for the addicted or mentally ill to voluntarily ask for treatment is the solution and mandating treatment is “cruel”.
- Firefighter December 18, 2025 (2:12 pm)
  
  It’s not “the caring people” who stall treatment through Christ-like bleeding from the heart and compassion, it’s MAGA and their complete extinction of rational empathy and focused loving firmness. The current answer from y’all MAGAites is “kill THEM all or deport THEM”. But take heed, It won’t be your way forever unless Trymp and his Inferior Court succeed in establishing a dictatorship and executive ordering the burning of the Constitution (even then there will be a war to oppose you) – and when the worm turns, the freedom and democracy loving rationalists are sure gonna love these new permissive federal laws and policies. The extent of what we can and will do with the new permissive federal laws is staggering – and will lead to the biggest advance in our Libersal Democracy since the Liberal framers created our Democratic Constitution and Bill of Rights!
Derp December 17, 2025 (5:55 pm)

That is left up their family, not just anyone.
- BlairJ December 17, 2025 (9:47 pm)
  
  Derp,What happens when a dysfunctional person comes from a dysfunctional family? That family is not likely to be any help, and the rest of us are left to deal with the consequences.
WS Res December 17, 2025 (10:06 pm)

Let’s do a truthfulness edit here to help you out. “Mental health concerns are Bothering Normal People Like Me where we need to Involuntarily incarcerate or institutionalize people in crisis even if It costs more money than Housing First and is less effective in getting people off the streets which is what people like me say we want, suggesting we actually want something else, something more punitive and less humane. A Sufficiently punitive society organized around principles that have never once actually helped vulnerable people should not allow People whom I see as my inferiors to continue to Disturb me by sharing my airspace.
- Another Kyle December 18, 2025 (11:11 am)
  
  Is throwing large rocks at people and property what you would call simply “bothering”? This is beyond someone who just smells bad on the bus or talks to themselves on the street. Most of us draw the line at causing harm to others… If you cannot control yourself to not hurt people in public then you can’t be in public. Simple as.
- Burgerman December 19, 2025 (12:17 am)
  
  This is the definition of putting words in someone’s mouth. Shame on you.

KBear December 17, 2025 (6:58 pm)

We live in a society where no one wants to pay for anyone else’s problems. A compassionate society would pay their taxes and recognize the public good. A compassionate society would have free healthcare, for example.

AN December 18, 2025 (8:17 am)

Huh? We PAY plenty of taxes, only to have them horribly mismanaged without any accountability. Free healthcare is in the hands of those we vote in, and with little engagement in voting and deep corruption once in, here we are. “Society” isn’t some disembodied building on a hill, it’s people who’ve created a deeply broken system.