Charges filed by the KCPAO: Tuesday, Sept. 13

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 King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office: Tuesday, Sept. 13

• Assault In The Second Degree — Domestic Violence (1 charge)
• Assault In The Second Degree (2 charges)
• Assault In The Fourth Degree (1 charge)
• Attempted Theft In The First Degree (1 charge)
• Attempting To Elude A Pursuing Police Vehicle (1 charge)
• Burglary In The First Degree (1 charge)
• Burglary In The Second Degree (1 charge)
• Domestic Violence Felony Violation Of A Court Order (1 charge)
• Hit And Run — Felony (1 charge)
• Identity Theft in the First Degree (2 charges)
• Identity Theft in the Second Degree (3 charges)
• Malicious Mischief In The First Degree (1 charge)
• Malicious Mischief in the Third Degree — Domestic Violence (1 charge)
• Organized Retail Theft In The Second Degree (1 charge)
• Possessing Stolen Property In The Second Degree (1 charge)
• Possession Of Stolen Vehicle (3 charges)
• Reckless Driving (1 charge)
• Reckless Endangerment — Domestic Violence (1 charge)
• Theft in the First Degree (2 charges)
• Theft Of A Firearm (1 charge)
• Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree (3 charges)
• Vehicular Homicide (1 charge)

22–1–01248–6

Vehicular Homicide

Reckless Driving

The defendant, then 39, was with friends drinking at several bars in South King County. At approximately 11:40 p.m., he was operating his motorcycle and giving a ride to a 40-year-old woman. She was wearing a helmet and sitting on the rear of the motorcycle. The defendant was speeding over 90 mph in the westbound outside lane of State Route 18. He had just passed a car using the on-coming lane, at a “really high speed.” There are two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane divided by a Jersey barrier. The defendant failed to slow for or pass a Jeep with a utility-trailer pulling a load of lumber in the right/outside lane. The Jeep was traveling at approximately 50 mph when the motorcycle slammed into the rear causing both the defendant and the woman passenger to eject from the motorcycle. The defendant denied consuming any alcohol but smelled strongly to the responding police and the good Samaritans who stopped to help. A search warrant to extract and test his blood was approved by a King County Superior Court judge. Blood was drawn approximately three hours after the crash and the results showed his blood alcohol content (BAC) was .13, and he had marijuana with THC of 2.1 and carboxy-THC of 6.8. The BAC indicates his alcohol content within two hours of the crash was nearly twice the per se limit.

22–1–04744–1

Attempting To Elude A Pursuing Police Vehicle

When State Patrol troopers attempted to stop the defendant for speeding, the defendant made erratic lane changes, continued speeding on the right shoulder to pass other traffic, reached 135 mph and ran a red light. The pursuit was approximately an hour long.

22–1–06953–4

Assault In The Second Degree

Hit And Run — Felony

The defendant behaved aggressively while driving and cut the victim off. He then continued to respond poorly when the victim honked at him in response. He pulled up next to the victim and threw a cup of coffee into the victim’s car, striking the inside of the vehicle and the victim’s face. He escalated things further when he called the victim a racial slur. The victim eventually pulled over and tried to speak to the defendant. Witnesses observed the victim start to walk away from the defendant’s window, back to his vehicle, when the defendant accelerated into the victim, pinning him against the guardrail. Witnesses noted the defendant had ample space to simply drive away, but instead he assaulted the victim with his vehicle and then sped away without making any attempt to provide aid to the man he had struck. The victim had to be taken to the hospital to treat an injury to his leg. The defendant was under conditions of release with another court at the time of this offense, yet it did nothing to curtail his violent behavior here. It is highly concerning that a simple daily activity such as driving can provoke the defendant to assault another with a deadly weapon. King County prosecutors are concerned that the defendant may commit another violent offense and requested a $100,000 warrant.

These case summaries, which were posted Sept. 18, 2022, are not expected to be updated. To see additional details in each case, go to the KC-Script Portal.