White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Guardian One is in the sky over downtown White Center. A robbery was reported a short time ago in the 9900 block of 15th SW, according to a bulletin shared with Seattle Police. Still working on details.

2:37 PM: A 19-year-old woman is in the King County Jail this afternoon for investigation of homicide after another woman was found dead in a White Center apartment. Here’s what King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deputy Mike Mellis tells us:

At 7:15pm on Friday, October 25th, 2024, the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) Communications Center received a 911 call regarding a possible homicide having just occurred.

The location was a small apartment building in the 9800 block of 15th Ave SW in the White Center area … Upon arrival, KCSO deputies contacted several individuals and located a deceased adult female inside one of the rooms of the residence. Another adult female was arrested at the scene. The KCSO Major Crimes Unit detectives were called to the scene to take over the investigation. The female suspect was booked into the King County Jail at approximately 1:30 am (this) morning. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the victim’s name, cause of death, and manner of death per their protocols. The King County Prosecutor’s Office will review the case reports and make a filing decision. This case remains an open and active investigation.

If you have any information, the KCSO case # is C24036038.

EVENING UPDATE: The suspect’s bail was set today at $2 million.

7:54 PM: We just got the court document from the bail hearing. Here’s the narrative, with some redactions:

(The suspect) is a tenant residing at the address of 9834 15 Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106; a multitenant structure comprised of separate rooms rented out on a per room basis by the 73-year-old property owner… (suspect) has resided at this location, renting a room for approximately one year.

On 10/25/2024 at 7:15 pm the suspect’s brother-in-law … called the King County Sheriff’s Office Communication Center to report that (she) had told them she had killed someone and had shown (the victim’s) body in a video phone call. …
King County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene. Meanwhile, the King County Sheriff’s Communications Center called (the suspect, who) initially told the call receiver that said she did not do this and that it was all a joke and that she was “all the way in Everett” with ‘a friend’, denying that she had done anything. When she was then asked about the video call she made(, she) responded, “I killed her…not the friend…the one that I showed to my sister.”

The suspect subsequently told detectives that the dispute involved back rent she owned. The brother-in-law said the suspect had been threatening to kill her landlord since last month but they didn’t take her seriously.

Via a reader tip and Seattle Police regional bulletin, we learn that King County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating an attack on a Metro bus driver. It happened in the past hour or so (after 9 am) at 15th/Roxbury. A reader says it was a northbound RapidRide H Line bus. The bulletin said the attacker broke a glass bottle over the driver’s head. They were described only as a Black man, tall, thin, in a black hoodie. If you have any information on the attack, call 911.

5:25 PM: According to an FYI bulletin just circulated on Seattle Police emergency radio, King County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating a shooting. One person is reported injured in the shooting at/near the Saar’s Super Saver Foods grocery store in the 10600 block of 16th SW. Deputies are said to be looking for a suspect described as a Hispanic man in his 20s, 5’7″, short brown hair, black clothing, with a backpack, carrying a black helmet. According to King County emergency radio, the victim is seriously injured with “multiple gunshot wounds.” (Added: Shot four times.) If you have any information, call 911.

5:47 PM: As shown in our photo, the scene appears to be at the car wash north of the store – at least, that’s where the victim was loaded into a medic unit; they’re now on the way to Harborview Medical Center. A possible suspect was found blocks away but we haven’t heard yet whether they’ve been arrested.

We’ll add anything more we find out.

6:31 PM: KCSO says they did take that suspect into custody – no other details, though, regarding the circumstances, the victim, or the suspect.

5:22 PM: Lots of questions earlier about the Guardian One helicopter over White Center/south West Seattle. Most of the ground response was gone by the time we were able to get to WC but archived King County Sheriff’s Office dispatch audio indicates Taboo Video on 16th south of 98th was robbed. Two robbers were described – descriptions broadcast over the air were partial, a Black man about 30, black clothing except for some “bluish” pants, and a white woman about 25, also in black clothing, with unspecified tattoos. They were reported to have escaped with some merchandise but no cash.

7 PM: A little more info from KCSO – the robbers did have a weapon, believed to be a Taser, but apparently did not use it, as investigators report no one was hurt. If you have any inforation, the case # is C24034078.

King County Sheriff’s Office detectives continue investigating last Friday’s holdup at the Domino’s Pizza location at 17th/Roxbury. We received two video clips, showing the robbers arriving and leaving, from a reader whose dashcam recorded this video while they were visiting a neighboring business at the time. It happened around 1:30 pm Friday (October 4). The three robbers are shown arriving and leaving in the blue Hyundai; the passerby also seen in the video was not involved.

KCSO says deputies responded but the robbers had already fled. If you have any information on the holdup, please contact KCSO.

According to a bulletin shared on Seattle Police radio, King County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a carjacking attempt tonight at 15th/Roxbury. We don’t know the exact time, but in the 9 pm-10 pm vicinity. Circumstances weren’t described but the suspect, who was reported to be armed, left on a “blue motorcycle.” He was reportedly possibly seen at the Coronado Springs apartment complex afterward, but gone by the time KCSO deputies arrived.

A man was found with a gunshot wound this afternoon outside the 15th/Roxbury gas station – and investigators believe the bullet that hit him was fired from the other side of Roxbury, outside the Walgreens, where they reported finding 19 casings.

Because the gunfire originated on the city side, Seattle Police and Fire were initial responders, so we are updating details on our partner site West Seattle Blog.

According to a bulletin just heard on Seattle Police radio, King County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a holdup at the Roxbury Shell station (next to Roxy’s Casino). It was a robbery at gunpoint, reported at 10:19 pm, and the robber(s) were reported to have gotten away in a “blue Honda sedan.” No other descriptive information.

Thanks for the tip. The Shorewood Grocery (10455 26th SW) has been broken into, yet again. The King County Sheriff’s Office says they were notified by a passerby just before 3:30 am, but the burglar(s) were gone when deputies arrived. We stopped by a short time ago and were told the burglar(s) got away with a small amount of cash, plus some vaping and smoking items.

If a shoplifting incident turns violent, it becomes a robbery in the eyes of the law. And that’s why the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed a charge of second-degree robbery against a man who allegedly tried to steal a bottle of water from Saar’s Super Saver Foods in White Center. Court documents say it happened Friday evening, May 23, when a store employee confronted 44-year-old Brandon L. Wilson about hiding the water bottle in his pants. Police say Wilson then hit the employee in the face and pushed him down while trying to get away. He was detained and 911 was called; deputies arrested him and booked him into the King County Jail, where he remains in lieu of $2,000 bail. Court documents say Wilson has a record including, in the past four years, cases of Criminal Trespass, Displaying a Weapon, Property Destruction, and Assault. When he was arrested, he was also wanted on a Renton warrant in a misdemeanor case of theft.

Highline Public Schools says vandal(s) have struck at the Evergreen High School construction site, but the district hopes it won’t be a setback to the schedule. Here’s the news release the district sent Friday:

The construction site for the new Evergreen High School facility was vandalized on May 31. A water hose was inserted into duct work, flooding a significant portion of the structure. Insulation and drywall sustained water damage. Clean-up started immediately after the damage was discovered.

Contractors are assessing the extent of the damage and any impact to the construction schedule. More information is anticipated in a couple of weeks.

Insurance coverage will minimize the financial impact to the district for clean-up, mitigation, and reconstruction costs. The contractor is taking additional security measures.

The general contractor, Cornerstone GCI, says they will do their best to complete the project on time. This will depend on the extent of the damage. The facility is scheduled to open for students in September 2025.

The King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

(First published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

(Victim’s photo, as displayed at April 27 vigil)

The man initially accused in the hit-run death of 81-year-old Tommy Joe Garrett, then released when a judge disagreed with prosecutors’ charging proposal, has been charged after all. 37-year-old Isaiah L. Cooper of Puyallup has been in custody since last Thursday, after the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed a charge of felony hit-and-run two days before that – the day after he was released from jail. The jail docket indicates Cooper’s bail is set at half a million dollars.

The charging document suggests what the additional evidence might be – a warrant to uncover the car. Here’s how the document summarizes the allegation – warning that it includes a graphic description of the collision:

On Monday evening on April 22, 2024, the defendant, 37-y-o Isaiah Lewis Cooper, was driving his Jeep Compass in the White Center neighborhood of King County. He went to a McDonald’s where he is seen driving. No one is seen in the passenger seat. There is no apparent damage to the hood of the car. He is not seen responding to anyone in the rear seat. This is captured on video.

Approximately 5-minutes later, and a couple blocks from the McDonald’s, at 10:09 p.m., 82-year-old Thomas Joseph Garrett was walking in the crosswalk of SW Roxbury St and 15 Av SW. Video shows a Jeep, later identified as the defendant’s, strike Mr. Garrett. The impact caused Mr. Garrett to fly onto the hood of the defendant’s vehicle and he is carried on the defendant’s car hood for approximately three seconds. The defendant brakes, causing Mr. Garrett to roll off the hood and onto the road. The defendant then continued to drive eastbound on Roxbury, leaving Mr. Garrett abandoned in the roadway. The traffic behind the defendant comes to a stop, as bystanders halt traffic and call for help. Both law enforcement and medics attempted to perform aid on Mr. Garrett before he was transported to Harborview Hospital, where he was pronounced dead within the hour of the collision.

Based on the surveillance and eyewitness reports, investigators were able to identify the defendant in the driver’s seat at the McDonalds. The defendant’s cell data corroborates that he was within 148’ of the collision. It also showed that he went to Port Orchard on 4/24/2024. His car was later recovered from his father’s house in Port Orchard. It was covered with a tarp and the defendant’s father confirmed that the defendant dropped it off and covered it “several weeks ago.”

On May 16, 2024, law enforcement contacted the defendant. He admitted that he had been in the vicinity of the collision on 4-22-2024 and that he subsequently left his car in Port Orchard. He denied hitting anyone. The Jeep was seized with the cover still on pending a search warrant to uncover it.

The case prosecutor then goes on to write that she “received the following information” from the “primary investigating detective”:

On May 20, King County Superior Court Judge J. Bender approved a Search Warrant to uncover the suspect vehicle. According to King County Det. Skaar, the uncovering revealed damage on the hood of the car consistent with a low-speed pedestrian collision. Specifically, Det Skaar stated that he observed multiple dents along the edge of the hood up to the back edge of the hood to the right of the center line, consistent with the damage that he would expect based on the video of the pedestrian strike on 4-22-2024. The license plate, which had been properly on the front bumper of the Jeep on the night of the collision at the McDonald’s was now moved from bumper to passenger side dashboard.

We noted in a previous report that Cooper’s record was said to include “numerous driving violations”; the charging document lists them – scattered over the past 15 years – as DUI, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, no insurance, speeding, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, driving on the wrong side of the road, and making a false statement to law enforcement, as well as Seattle Municipal Court warrants for a 2019 case alleging “no interlock” and suspended license. Cooper is scheduled for arraignment – the hearing at which a defendant enters an initial plea – next Monday, June 3.

(Also published on our partner site West Seattle Blog)

(Victim’s photo, as displayed at April 27 vigil)

Monday was the charging deadline for the 37-year-old man arrested in Puyallup last week on suspicion he was the hit-run driver who killed 81-year-old Tommy Joe Garrett at 15th/Roxbury last month. Monday night, after the online court file showed no sign of charges, we checked the King County Jail register – and it showed that the suspect had been released from jail just after 9 pm. We sought comment from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; spokesperson Casey McNerthney explains: “Prosecutors submitted the certification of determination of probable cause by police investigators. The court did not find probable cause for the criminal charge. Probable cause for a criminal charge is different than finding probable cause at a first appearance – there is a lower standard for probable cause at a first appearance hearing.”

Could the same suspect still be charged in the future, if there was different/more evidence, for example? McNerthney says, “Prosecutors can review additional and/or clarifying information from police investigators anytime within the statute of limitations.” In the document for last week’s initial court hearing, King County Sheriff’s Office detectives had said they traced the vehicle involved in the hit-run (which belongs to the suspect’s mother) – and then its driver – through security cameras and cell-phone records. Here’s the entirety of what they wrote in the probable-cause document for the first hearing (we’ve redacted the names and part of the plate):

On 04-22-24 V/Garrett was walking across the street at the intersection of 15 AV SW and SW Roxbury ST just outside of the City of Seattle. A Jeep Compass was traveling east on Roxbury street on a green light and struck Garrett who was pronounced dead that night at the hospital as a result of the collision. The Jeep did not stop and continued east on Roxbury street. Multiple witnesses called 911 and gave statements about what happened. Detectives later obtained video showing the collision and nearby video showing a clear image of the suspect vehicle but no plate could be seen. Detective later found video at a Mcdonalds at 26 AV SW and SW Barton ST of the same model and color of Jeep Compass with a plate of BWB2— which came back to (suspect’s mother) out of Puyallup. Other police reports showed that her son, (suspect), had used her cars in the past. DOL and social media photos of (suspect) matched the subject seen in the driver’s seat of the Compass on Mcdonalds Video. A tag of some sort hanging from the rear view mirror also matched what was seen of the video of the Compass near the crash scene. The video shows the Compass leave the Mcdonalds about 3 minutes before the collision which is about how long it would take to get to the scene of the collision. A warrant was done for historical records of the phone number associated with (suspect) and showed his location at the time of the collision as being within 148 feet of the collision with a 100-300m accuracy. On 05-16-24 Detectives arrested (suspect) leaving his mothers house and post Miranda warnings took a statement from him. He told Detectives that the Compass was having mechanical issues and that he parked it at his father’s house near Bremerton. (Suspect’s) mother said she hadn’t seen the car in about 3 weeks and that (suspect) regularly drives it.

We’ll continue following up.

(Victim’s photo, as displayed at April 27 vigil)

Three and a half weeks after a hit-run driver killed 81-year-old Tommy Joe Garrett at 15th/Roxbury, the King County Sheriff’s Office announced this morning that a suspect is in custody. Here’s the news release:

King County Sheriff’s Office Detectives have made an arrest in fatal pedestrian hit and run that occurred in White Center on April 22, 2024.

On April 22, 2024, just after 10 PM, an 81-year-old man was crossing SW Roxbury Street at 15th Ave SW when he was fatally struck by a vehicle in the hours of darkness. The vehicle did not stop and fled the scene. Detectives were able to identify the fleeing vehicle as a silver-colored Jeep Compass. Over the next few weeks KCSO Detectives continued checking the area businesses and residences to trace the vehicle’s route pre and post collision. This eventually led them to identifying a vehicle license plate with a view of the driver, a lone 37-year-old male driver. With the help of the King County Metro Transit PD Street Crimes Detectives, the driver was arrested yesterday without incident on a traffic stop as he was leaving a home in the Puyallup area. He was eventually booked for investigation of the fatal hit and run into the King County Jail. The driver subsequently admitted that he moved the Jeep to Port Orchard, where he had it parked under a tarp at a family member’s residence. King County Sheriff’s Office Detectives have recovered the vehicle, and it was brought back to King County as evidence and for processing.

This case is still an active and open investigation. We are not naming the suspect as he has not been charged yet by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. We hope to have more information to release whenthe case has concluded.

We’re working to find out more and will add details when we do.

According to a bulletin heard on the Seattle Police frequency, King County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a shooting at 14th SW/SW 100th. The victim is described as a man shot in the leg. Medics were dispatched at 8:44 pm, according to the South King Fire 911 log. There’s no word yet on a description of who shot the victim, but deputies are reported to be looking for two vehicles that might be involved – a red Hyundai SUV and a black sedan. Both were seen westbound on SW 100th. If you have any information, call 911.

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

Thomas J. Garrett, known to those who loved him as “Tommy Joe,” was the 81-year-old man killed by a hit-run driver this past Monday night at 15th/Roxbury. Family members gathered there for a vigil this afternoon.

His daughter told us Mr. Garrett lived on Capitol Hill much of his life and went to Garfield High School with Jimi Hendrix. He himself was a musician and his career included many achievements including work as a TV-news photographer. His nephew talked more about Mr. Garrett’s life as traffic roared by on Roxbury:

His family says they don’t know why Mr. Garrett was in this area Monday night. They do know King County Sheriff’s Office deputies have yet to find his killer and are still seeking information on this vehicle (as reported Thursday):

Call 800-222-TIPS if you have any information. Meantime, they are planning a memorial for him at a Buddhist temple in the Central District. And they want to ensure no one forgets him, or what happened here.

ADDED: Sili Savusa and Aaron Garcia from the White Center Community Development Association were there and promised to work to make the area safer:

15th/Roxbury has of course had other trouble over the years – including last October’s shooting death of 21-year-old Marcell Wagner aboard a Metro bus just south of the intersection.

2:52 PM: The King County Sheriff’s Office says that’s the vehicle whose driver hit and killed an 81-year-old man at 15th/Roxbury on Monday night; the crash was first reported on our partner site West Seattle Blog.. Today KCSO released the photo with this request for help:

Case#: C24013796

On Monday, April 22nd, just after 10:00 PM, the King County Sheriff’s Office received 911 calls reporting a hit and run just south of the intersection of SW Roxbury Street and 15th Ave SW in unincorporated White Center.

On arrival, deputies located the victim, an adult male in his 80s. The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center, where he later was pronounced deceased.

KCSO’s Major Accident Response & Reconstruction (MARR) detectives are asking for the community’s help in locating the fleeing vehicle. The suspected vehicle (picture attached) is described as a silver, 2007-2016 Jeep Compass with front-end damage to the grill and hood.

If you have any information about the incident or were in the area and may have dash camera footage, call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit P3Tips.com, or use the P3 Tip App. Tips are anonymous.

4:12 PM: The King County Medical Examiner’s Office released the victim’s name this afternoon: Thomas J. Garrett.

We just checked with King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Eric White for an update on the carjacking we reported Friday night. He tells us it actually happened in the O’Reilly Auto Parts lot while the victim was sleeping inside the car. Then on Sunday, Seattle Police found the car in the 9700 block of Myers Way South and arrested one person, according to Sgt. White, who had no further details on the circumstances of the arrest. We’ll be following up with Seattle Police.

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

This alert was just relayed over Seattle Police radio – King County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating a reported carjacking outside Domino’s Pizza at 17th/Roxbury. Three armed carjackers are reported to have arrived in a white pickup and taken off in both that vehicle and the newly stolen white Toyota Camry, westbound on SW Roxbury. The only description of the carjackers so far: white men in their 20s with goatees and black hats. If you have any info for investigators, call 911.