Examples of Oct. 2022 charges filed by the KCPAO
2 min readNov 21, 2022
There were at least 629 criminal charges filed in October by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Violent crime and repeat property crime are the bulk of the cases we handle, and prosecutors typically file between 20–30 cases daily.
Our ability to file charges is based on the number of case referrals by police investigators. Here is a breakdown of charges from October (21 business days):
- King County prosecutors filed 96 assault or attempted assault charges in October, including armed assaults.
- There were 23 robbery and attempted robbery charges filed by King County prosecutors in October.
- King County prosecutors charged 81 burglaries and attempted burglaries in October, including 57 commercial burglaries.
- In addition to armed assaults and armed robberies, King County prosecutors charged 43 additional gun crimes in October, such as unlawful gun possession.
- King County prosecutors filed 48 theft or attempted theft charges in October. That includes 9 organized retail theft charges and 1 conspiracy to commit organized retail theft charge. (Most shoplifting cases are not felony thefts, they are misdemeanor cases referred to individual city attorney’s offices.)
- Stolen vehicles are the most common type of property crime prosecuted. King County prosecutors filed 74 vehicle theft and vehicle prowl-related charges in October.
- In October, the KCPAO filed 6 murder charges and 1 vehicular homicide charge. Many police murder investigations are still ongoing.
- Drug possession cases — even cases of people using meth and heroin on the streets — have not been felony crimes since the State Supreme Court’s Blake decision in February 2021. However, King County prosecutors still charge drug dealers, most often fentanyl dealers. King County prosecutors filed 31 drug dealing charges in October, including 8 fentanyl dealing charges and 9 meth dealing charges (possession with intent or drug delivery). That overall number is up from 21 drug dealing charges in August and 29 in September.
- Domestic violence remains the most common crime type in King County: 20.8 % of all charges filed in October were domestic violence related (131 of at least 629 charges).
The overwhelming majority of the 629 charges are from felony cases in Superior Court, but that number also includes a few expedited and fugitive cases in District Court.
