Update in Seattle Stabbing Case
On Friday, March 25, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged a man with Assault in the First Degree, a felony charge, for a March 2 stabbing in downtown Seattle.
This is the same individual who is previously charged with felony assault for an attack the same day on a woman at a light rail station. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office argued that the defendant is a danger to the community and filed that light rail assault case immediately. He has been in custody since his first appearance in that earlier case.
This stabbing happened shortly after the light rail attack. The case, which was investigated by the King County Sheriff’s Office, was referred to us for a charging decision after the defendant was already in custody in the earlier felony assault case.
He remains in custody on both cases with a combined bail of $650,000. That is the amount requested by prosecutors, and judges agreed.
From the new charging documents filed today:
On March 2, 2022, the defendant followed a woman off of a light rail train, threw her down the station’s stairs multiple times, and kicked her. The woman suffered multiple broken bones. Based on these actions, the defendant was charged with Assault in the Second Degree in King County Superior Court cause no. 22–1–02867–6 SEA and is held at the Maleng Regional Justice Facility on $150,000 bail. Approximately 30 minutes later, the defendant repeatedly stabbed the victim in the current case as she stood at a bus stop. Just minutes before the stabbing, the defendant was looking for a knife at a nearby business. According to medical records, the victim was stabbed ten times — three times in the neck, once in the left shoulder, three times in the left arm, and three times in the back. The victim underwent surgery — during which a lacerated submandibular gland was partially resected — and was hospitalized for a number of days.
The charges in both cases are based on the available evidence and what we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt in accordance with the law.
While court documents outline a significant criminal history for the defendant, only some of those cases were referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Prior to the two felony cases filed this month, there were five cases involving this individual that have been referred to us in the last five years. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office obtained convictions in four of those cases, and the remaining case was later sent for filing in municipal court.
