Charges filed by the KCPAO: Friday, Dec. 16

The overwhelming majority of criminal cases filed daily by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office don’t receive public attention.

That’s not the fault of the public or news reporters — it’s understandable with the volume of felony cases we file each day.

The KCPAO is sharing the number of adult cases filed each day and additional details about a handful of specific cases to highlight the kinds of cases we handle. Details below are from the public charging documents.

Charges filed by the KCPAO: Friday, Dec. 16

• Assault In The Second Degree — Domestic Violence (2 charges)
• Assault In The Fourth Degree (1 charge)
• Assault In The Fourth Degree — Domestic Violence (1 charge)
• Attempted Commercial Sexual Abuse Of A Minor (1 charge)
• Communication With a Minor For Immoral Purposes (1 charge)
• Criminal Mistreatment In The Second Degree (1 charge)
• Driving While License Suspended/Revoked In The Third Degree (1 charge)
• Failure to Register as a Sex Offender (1 charge)
• Hit And Run — Felony (1 charge)
• Identity Theft in the Second Degree (1 charge)
• Making A False Or Misleading Statement To A Public Servant (1 charge)
• Organized Retail Theft In The First Degree (1 charge)
• Possession Of Stolen Vehicle (3 charges)
• Residential Burglary (1 charge)
• Theft In The First Degree (1 charge)
• Theft Of Motor Vehicle (2 charges)
• Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree (1 charge)
• Violation of Ignition Interlock (1 charge)
• Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act (4 charges: possession with intent — fentanyl; possession with intent — heroin; possession with intent — meth; possession with intent — cocaine)

22–1–08216–6
Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act (4 charges: possession with intent — fentanyl; possession with intent — heroin; possession with intent — meth; possession with intent — cocaine)

Seattle Police served a search warrant at a North Seattle residence as part of a drug operation. The search warrant yielded more than 7,000 grams of meth, more than 4,000 grams of fentanyl, more than 400 grams of heroin, more than 300 grams of cocaine, scales, and more than $18,000.00 in cash. The drugs were tested and rendered positive results. The defendant spoke to officers and indicated the bundles found were in fact drugs. King County prosecutors argued that the defendant should be held on $25,000 because of the danger to the community — and we also argued that he’s a flight risk. The first appearance judge set bail at $5,000. (Because of court rules, prosecutors could not re-argue bail with the filing of charges.) Jail records show the defendant posted bail on the amount set by the judge.

22–1–05246–1

Hit And Run — Felony

Violation of Ignition Interlock

Driving While License Suspended/Revoked In The Third Degree

On Dec. 12, the defendant was driving his pickup truck in Burien. He veered off the road and crashed over a sidewalk and into a chain link fence and shrubbery. He later claimed that he had fallen asleep and woke up crashing into the fence. He did not stop or make any attempt to find out what damage he had caused or what he had struck. It would later be found that he drove away with a piece of the chain link fence and blackberry bushes embedded and tangled in the front of his truck. The neighbor who reported the crash saw the truck speeding away from the crashed fence. Police were called to the scene but were unable to locate the homeowner. What they did not realize at the time, was that the homeowner had been struck and thrown down a rockery into the yard. His body was discovered the next day by the family dog. It was obvious he had died from injuries consistent with being hit by the truck. His roommate and friends had filed a missing witness report and had been worried about his whereabouts. The defendant was identified and located by police. The truck was found and had damage consistent with the crash. The defendant admitted in a post-Miranda recorded interview that he was driving without a required ignition interlock device and while his privilege to drive was suspended. King County prosecutors argued that the defendant should be held on $250,000 bail. The first appearance judge set bail at $100,000. Because prosecutors did not have the ability to re-argue the bail amount under court rules, we asked for that amount to be maintained with the filing of charges. King County prosecutors also asked for a judge to order electronic home detention for the defendant if he were able to post bond.

22–1–08215–8

Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree

A Bellevue Police officer was on patrol and observed a car without a front license plate and two large impact points on the front windshield with significant cracking of the glass, impacting the visibility of the driver. The officer contacted the driver and lawful owner of the car, the defendant, and arrested him on outstanding warrants. The officer saw in plain view live 40 caliber ammunition and one live round of rifle caliber ammunition sitting in the cup holder; thus, the officer applied for a search warrant for the car. Upon execution of the search warrant, the officer noted the driver’s seat was reclined backwards allowing the driver to access the backside of the passenger seat as well as the floorboards behind the passenger seat. The search of the car yielded a significant amount of stolen credit cards, identification cards, mail, dozens of seemingly stolen checks, washed checks with the names and/or dollar amounts of the checks removed, banking statements with names, birthdates and Social Security numbers present, stacks of handwritten notes containing full credit card numbers, expiration dates and three digit CCV numbers, and a Seahawks notebook containing numerous pages of names, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, and credit card numbers all handwritten inside. In the seat-pocket behind the rear passenger seat was a black semi-automatic .40 caliber Smith and Wesson pistol with multiple rounds. The pistol was reported stolen to the King County Sheriff’s Office by the lawful owner in June 2020. After the search, the Bellevue officer received a text message from the defendant’s alleged girlfriend. Amongst other texts, the woman told the officer “[y]ou give him that car he’s gonna kill himself and or someone else.” It should be noted that on October 24, that same woman told Tacoma Police that the defendant yelled at her, “You f****** b****, I’m going to kill you.”

These case summaries, which were posted Dec. 20, 2022, are not expected to be updated. To see additional details in each case, go to the KC-Script Portal.