CRIME: Accused Grace Church burglar charged
(King County Sheriff’s Office photo)
Almost a week after his arrest, the man suspected of breaking into Grace Church remains in jail. 39-year-old Zachary J. Ufkes is charged with second-degree burglary, his bail set at $10,000. The charging documents say Ufkes smashed a window with a rock last Sunday and was found eating and drinking items from the church’s kitchen (chocolate ice cream and Sprite soda, according to a social-media post by the King County Sheriff’s Office). Prosecutors noted that Ufkes’s record includes a 2004 conviction for attempted murder; this newspaper story about that case says he beat, stabbed, and choked a woman with whom he was staying, after she asked him to move out. He also has burglary and assault convictions, and had a case pending for allegedly violating a domestic-violence no-contact order, plus a Department of Corrections arrest warrant. Case documents also say he gave deputies a fake name but they ID’d him through fingerprints.
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May 4th, 2020 at 8:35 pm
Zach is our nephew, my older brother’s son. What Zach’s story shows is how meth addiction can destroy a life. After 13 years in prison, Zach got out and our entire family circled around him to nurture him to re-engage successfully into society. Zach was successful for two years, but recently Zach found meth again, and it led to him breaking into Grace Church. Our family asks the entire Grace Church community for their forgiveness for how Zach has damaged their place of worship and hurt their sense of security and serenity. Our family will arrange to pay for all damages at Grace Church and we hope and pray that Zach can find the mental health services he desperately needs as he returns to prison.
Mark Ufkes and Lois Schipper (White Center residents)