(WSB photo from 47th/Charlestown investigation scene, January 9th)
The driver charged with vehicular assault in the 47th/Charlestown car-vs.-pole crash earlier this month is out of jail – but wasn’t supposed to be, and a warrant is out for his arrest. So confirms Commander William Hayes of the King County Jail, though he tells WSB they are still investigating how the mistake happened. You might recall that after the crash on January 9th, 23-year-old driver Mohammad Nema and his passenger – an estranged girlfriend who had a protection order against him – both wound up in the hospital. She got out a few days later, but he was still in the hospital when we followed up on January 14th – that’s when we reported that, after investigators determining that he had been driving under the influence, prosecutors charged him with vehicular assault/domestic violence. We kept checking the King County Jail Register for signs that he was out of the hospital and in jail – and then suddenly discovered a few days ago that he was listed as having been in jail for about an hour on January 16th, with the release reason listed as “error”:

Trying to find out who could tell us how that happened, we finally spoke this afternoon with Commander Hayes, who says he doesn’t know – in situations like this, patients are supposed to be transferred to county custody before getting out of the hospital, and apparently Nema wasn’t – the arrest warrant filed yesterday says simply that he “left Harborview.” (The brief notation from January 16th was apparently a mistaken “booking in absentia”). Cmdr. Hayes hopes to have more information on the investigation by the end of the week. We’ll be checking on that, and we’ll keep watching to see if Nema turns up in custody; at the time of the crash, he had a Burien address.

New development tonight in the wake of yesterday’s Lincoln Park attack and arrest. Tonight police have gone public with that sketch they say was made because of an attack in the park last December. They want to hear from anyone and everyone who not only might have had a suspicious encounter in the park, but anyone who might have been subject to “unwanted touching” elsewhere in West Seattle. As we reported earlier today, the man arrested yesterday, 46-year-old Duane Starkenburg, is currently charged only in one incident – and police are working hard to see if there are others he might be responsible for. Here’s their full update.

MONDAY MORNING NOTE: Starkenburg’s entry on the jail register now suggests he’s being held without bail – we’re checking on that – and adds “investigation of indecent liberties.”

Thanks to everybody who called/texted/e-mailed to ask about a police response earlier this afternoon in the Lafayette Elementary/West Seattle High School area. It’s taken a while to assemble the information from multiple sources, but now the Southwest Precinct has filled in the blanks. From Lt. Ron Smith: The original call went out as “man with a gun” in the WSHS vicinity just after 12:30 pm. The accompanying description matched someone officers saw walking with others on SW Lander (near Lafayette). They saw one person putting something behind a recycling bin; police stopped the group and found what appeared to be a black handgun behind the bin. Lt. Smith says, “The handgun was a pellet gun painted black to appear like a handgun. When questioned, the suspect observed placing the weapon admitted to hiding the weapon.” The investigation didn’t stop there – police discovered that suspect and “another male” were believed to have robbed someone at a nearby bus stop, asking for a cell phone and a wallet, and taking a pack of cigarettes from a victim’s pockets. Lt. Smith says they found evidence of more victims – and now they are investigating to see if this has anything to do with car prowls and a stolen vehicle that was foundin the same general area. For now, two male juveniles are in custody, for investigation of robbery.

P.S. Here’s the SPD Blotter version of all this, published a few hours after our story.

(added 12:56 pm, :30 from this morning’s hearing; this courtroom has glass between defendants and spectators/media)
We are at the King County Jail, where 46-year-old Duane Starkenburg has just pleaded not guilty to an assault charge stemming from the Lincoln Park jogger attack first reported here yesterday afternoon. Because of his criminal history, as noted in our story from last night, the judge agreed with the city’s request to set his bail at $25,000. His lawyer says Starkenburg just accidentally tripped the victim and tried to apologize, “but she sprinted off.” Also defending him, in a brief interview outside the courtroom with us and multiple TV news crews, his mother Lois Starkenburg, who said her Army-veteran son, currently unemployed, wouldn’t do something like that. His next hearing is set for early February; if he does post bond, he is under orders to stay away from the victim – “I don’t know her,” he assured the judge – and out of Lincoln Park. As for other charges, that will be up to city and county lawyers to review; right now, he is charged only in connection with what happened yesterday, though a similar recent incident was mentioned briefly when the city was arguing for the $25,000 bail.

Side note that we discovered while researching this story; the family is connected to a tragic crime that made regional news 20 years ago. Duane Starkenburg’s parents, longtime West Seattleites, are also the parents of Kimberly Starkenburg, shot dead in 1990 in a multiple-shooting case for which an already-convicted killer named Charles Corliss was found guilty. That case was NOT discussed in the courtroom – it came up while we were researching Duane Starkenburg’s background last night.

Back to this case: The judge allowed video in the courtroom and we will add ours as soon as we are back at headquarters.

We have two accounts of this incident early today in which a watchful neighbor is being lauded for alerting police to a crime in progress – first, from Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Rasmussen:

At about 5:30 this morning a neighbor noticed a white box van parked in the driveway of a vacant house in the 5400 block of 18 SW and also saw what they thought were flashlights flickering inside the house. The neighbor call the police and our officers responded and contacted two subjects, a husband and wife from South Seattle. Officers were able to determine that the suspects didn’t live in the house and were attempting to take the woodstove from the home. The officers also noticed a large number of what appeared to be new items in the van that had Home Depot stickers on them. When the suspect’s story about the items didn’t add up, the officers were able to contact the manager of the West Seattle Home Depot. He identified the two individuals as persons who had tried to take the same items from his store yesterday. He was able to verify that the items were now missing from the store and had not been purchased. Both subjects were arrested for the burglary of the house and the theft from Home Depot.

We’d like to recognize the neighbor who noticed something out of place and called the police and encourage folks to do the same if they notice things that are out of place in their neighborhoods.

ADDED 12:07 PM: Here’s a neighbor’s account, received a bit earlier – the neighbor asked to be anonymous:

A crime report hot on the heels of your good reporting of Benjamin Kinlow and his send-off last night: (reporting this in case anyone e-mails you to ask you why there were 5 police cars at a house in the Puget Ridge neighborhood this morning:)

This morning, around 5:30 or so, 911 was called when a van backed up the driveway to the garage of a house that has been vacant for the last month. the 911 call was made when people were observed walking through the house with flashlights. after a quick description to the 911 dispatcher of what was happening, 3 police officers arrived within minutes. after a little while, 2 more police officers arrived to assist, and according to one officer, items stolen elsewhere were identified in the van. …

Obviously this is proof that reporting suspicious activity is effective and the police are responsive- thank you to SPD.

And thank you to everyone who shares crime reports – whether an arrest happened or didn’t – with WSB and therefore with tens of thousands of your peninsula neighbors. Here’s how to contact us, 24/7. (But when it’s crime, always call the police first!)

ORIGINAL 5:43 PM REPORT: A suspect arrested this afternoon after an attack in Lincoln Park may be responsible for other attacks, according to Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen. He says the female jogger assaulted this afternoon was not physically hurt. After police set up containment, they caught a suspect, and Capt. Paulsen says detectives will be following up for possible ties to other incidents – including previous cases at Lincoln Park. The arrest happened around 4 pm, according to a WSB’er who says his son saw police “tackling someone” at the park around that time. (Checking our archives, an incident last August is the most recent one we’d heard about.)

6:55 PM UPDATE: There’s now a short summary on SPDBlotter, with a few more details:

On January 25th at approximately 3:50 p.m. a 27-year-old female was jogging on the waterfront trail in Lincoln Park (8000 block of Fauntleroy Way SW) when an unknown male suspect ran up behind her and attempted to tackle her by throwing his arms around her legs. The victim was able to break free and get away. The suspect fled eastbound through the park toward Fauntleroy. The suspect was apprehended by responding officers as he attempted to cross Fauntleroy. The victim positively identified the 46-year-old male suspect, who was subsequently booked into the King County Jail for misdemeanor assault.

Sexual Assault Unit detectives are handling the follow up investigation. It it unknown at this time if this suspect is responsible for any other attacks.

According to the jail register, the suspect was booked just before 6 pm; public records list him at a Gatewood address, less than a mile from Lincoln Park. We’re checking on his record.

7:08 PM UPDATE: The suspect, who we will not name until charged, has a 2005 assault charge on his record. The charge says he attacked a woman in Highland Park in what appears to have been a road-rage incident that started on Highway 509; he followed her to her home, where he pulled over, reached inside her car and hit her in the face before grabbing the cell phone she was using to call 911, and ran off. He pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and was sentenced to 3 months in jail (with work release), according to the documents in that case, which also show he had prior convictions for assault, property destruction, and reckless driving in the mid- to late ’90s. He is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow morning.

9:32 PM UPDATE: A WSB commenter says she’s the victim from this afternoon’s incident, and writes:

West Seattle- I am the jogger who was attacked this afternoon. I was running on a trail along the upper part of the cliff. I was also surprised by the attack in broad daylight, and I had passed many people out walking their dogs. This is the only time I have ever ran with my cell phone, I recommend everyone to do this, it’s the only reason they were able to catch him. I called within seconds of it happening.