Charges in Bellevue unrest — felony case updates
Two people charged with felony burglary — one for targeting Nordstrom at Bellevue Square and another for taking between 40–50 items from a Bartell Drugs store during the May 31, 2020 unrest in Bellevue — were scheduled for hearings December 22 in the King County Courthouse.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed 25 felony cases, primarily from May 31, after reviewing each police investigation individually and independently.
Bellevue declared a civil emergency on May 31, 2020 following looting and destruction that prompted the city’s mayor to request assistance from the National Guard.
Many of the felony cases filed have more than one criminal count. As of December 21, another 11 felony referrals are prepared for filing by our office or awaiting review. The remainder of the additional cases, expected to be referred by police at the misdemeanor level, are sent to the Bellevue City Attorney’s Office to be handled in Municipal Court.
Here is a breakdown of the charged felony counts filed by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office:
· Burglary = 31
· Possession of stolen property = 3
· Unlawful possession of a firearm = 1
· Malicious mischief = 1
One of the cases in court December 22 was case 21–1–05040–1. From those public charging documents:
The defendant drove her two youth accomplices to the Bellevue Square Mall on 31 May 2020, parked one block away. Wearing a pink in color ski mask, the defendant and her underage accomplices ran to the mall and entered the then shuttered facility via a door which had been breached by other looters. The three females entered Nordstrom through another smashed door and departed 60 seconds later clutching several items. The trio departed the mall and walked to the defendant’s car, where the stolen goods were deposited into the trunk of the defendant’s car. The three individuals were then joined by a fourth female, and the four entered the mall again, returning to the defendant’s vehicle several minutes later to place more stolen items in the trunk of the defendant’s car.
The other was case 21–1–05039–8. From those public charging documents:
During the widespread civil unrest, the defendant was found fleeing from a closed Bartell Drug Store with a large bag containing approximately 40–50 beauty products taken from inside the store. The store’s entrances had been shattered and there was widespread looting. When asked why she had gone inside the store, the defendant responded, “everyone was doing it!”
During court-ordered slowdowns due to the pandemic and public health guidelines, a priority for felony prosecution in King County has been addressing in-custody defendants in violent cases or repeat offenses — in Bellevue, Seattle and all parts of King County. However, as these and other cases from the May 31 riots show, these Bellevue burglaries are not forgotten, and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is confident that these charged cases can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
We believe that when people look at the cases we’ve charged, they too will see the difference between people protesting peacefully and those who commit acts of violence, property destruction and theft.
