White Center Now: The blog about White Center

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed charges against 67-year-old Ranjel Joaquin, a convicted sex offender arrested at Steve Cox Memorial Park two weeks ago. The charging documents allege that Joaquin tried to get a 10-year-old girl to go into a wooded area with him, and then exposed himself to her. The girl’s mother called 911 while following him through White Center and taking photos, but he took off as deputies arrived. A detective following up on the case circulated the photos, and a colleague recognized Joaquin from another recent incident in which he was engaging in indecent exposure. Further investigation revealed additional similar arrests, as well as an extensive multi-state history of similar offenses. Police started looking for him and found him at Steve Cox park, watching children. They took him in for questioning and eventually arrested him. He is now charged with luring, indecent exposure, and failure to register as a sex offender. Joaquin remains in the King County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

No arrests yet in a shooting Monday afternoon in North Shorewood, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office. It happened just after 3:30 pm Monday in the 2600 block of SW 110th. KCSO would only say it happened “in or near a garage of a home” and that one person was shot. The area resident who sent the photo said it appeared the victim was a woman and that firefighters/medics said she was critically injured. If you have any information, the KCSO case number to refer to when reporting it is C22027189.

One week ago tonight, 64-year-old North Highline resident Dory Larsen was killed in Burien when a man driving a stolen car ran a red light and hit her. The driver who killed her, 25-year-old Mohamed Tayib, is now charged with three felonies – vehicular homicide, hit and run, and reckless driving. Charging documents say a Burien Police officer was trying to pull Tayib over when he ran the red light and hit Ms. Larsen’s car; Tayib caught the officer’s attention with screeching tires and running a red light at 4th Avenue South and 128th, continuing eastward. The officer activated his lights and, prosecutors say, was behind Tayib when he ran the 1st/128th light, his stolen Subaru Outback smashing into Ms. Larsen’s Ford Fiesta as she drove northbound on 128th. A third car was hit before Tayib pulled into a nearby gas station, where he and another man got out of the car and tried to walk away; a bystander stopped them until the officer caught up. Dispatch subsequently confirmed the Subaru had been stolen in Seattle the day before. Ms. Larsen died at the scene; no one else was seriously hurt. Tayib was booked into jail and remains there, bail set at half a million dollars. Earlier this year, he served time for a five-count conviction including residential burglary and two counts of car prowling; the charging documents say his record also includes assault, theft, hit-and-run, DUI, and speeding

Thanks for the tip. The King County Sheriff’s Office says one person was injured last night in a shooting. They got a 911 call about possible gunfire in the 10700 block of 16th SW around 11 pm; the 911 log says the call came from the Windemere Estates apartment complex. They found a victim with a gunshot wound to their arm. The victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center. No arrest reported – if you have any information, the KCSO incident number is C22024158.

Thanks for the tips. The big emergency response at 15th and Roxbury earlier this afternoon was because of a shooting. The King County Sheriff’s Office tells us the gunfire involved “two separate groups … possibly juveniles.” One person was injured – a bystander hit in the leg, taken to St. Anne’s in Burien for treatment. No arrests so far, but KCSO is “pursuing leads.” If you have any information, the case number is #C22023208.

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

The White Center Food Bank was hit by burglars over the holiday weekend. We got a tip about this on Tuesday and inquired; here’s the info we received today in response:

Over the 4th of July holiday weekend, the administrative area of the White Center Food Bank was broken into and burglarized.

We lost computers, tools, grow lights for our garden, headphones, other electronics, and more that we are still trying to sort out.

Please keep an eye out for anyone selling or dumping these items and please let us know at admin@whitecenterfoodbank.org.

This is heartbreaking for a non-profit food bank with the sole intent of serving our neighbors, but we know we will get through it with our community’s support. We are filing an insurance claim, but if you wish to support the recovery of stolen items, we have set up a ‘Theft Recovery Fund’ designation on our donation website: https://whitecenterfoodbank.networkforgood.com

12:57 AM: 1 person was reported to have been shot at the Roxbury Safeway a short time ago, and deputies quickly took a suspect into custody, reporting they had also seized a gun. No other information so far.

10:53 AM: The case was transferred to Seattle PD, after a determination that the primary scene was on their side of the city-limit line; we’ve added information from them to our coverage on partner site West Seattle Blog.

Tuesday evening, police arrested four north-end bank-robbery suspects in White Center and South Park. It was a relatively lengthy helicopter-assisted operation, and the Guardian One crew has released video this past hour showing how it unfolded.

8:28 PM: This is just developing now along 16th SW in White Center – according to emergency-radio traffic, King County Sheriff’s Deputies were pursuing a vehicle (we don’t yet know why) and, after use of the PIT maneuver, it ended with collisions reported on 16th SW – one around SW 104th and another around SW 100th. We’re on our way to find out more. In the meantime, if you have to go through White Center, avoid that stretch of street.

8:44 PM: Photo above is from the scene at 16th/100th. Road closures start there/southward. So far, we’ve learned only that this began with an incident in SeaTac. A suspect is in custody. Major Crimes detectives are responding, so this will be an active scene for some time.

9:17 PM: Added photo from 104th scene. Deputies at the scenes aren’t commenting but we just talked by phone with KCSO Capt. Tim Meyer. He says they started chasing the suspect as a “followup to an open and active investigation from a couple days ago” and that the 104th collision happened during the pursuit, with the suspect’s vehicle coming to a stop at the WC Starbucks. Capt. Meyer said two people were taken to hospitals – one to St. Anne in Burien, one to Harborview Medical Center.

9:54 PM: Going back through archived radio exchanges from the start of the pursuit, the only additional detail we can deduce is that the red pickup truck (partly seen in the photo above) is what the suspect was in, and that the deputy who started trying to pull him over recognized him from a “bulletin” that had been circulated regarding the earlier case.

Two crime reports:

ARMED ROBBERY: This was broadcast as an alert to Seattle Police as well as KCSO – a report that someone was held up at gunpoint by the White Center US Bank ATM on Friday night. Just one robber reported. No other details.

CATALYTIC-CONVERTER THEFTS: The photo and report are from Ron near 20th SW and SW 102nd:

I received a call from a neighbor that their catalytic converter was stolen at 2:05 AM Wednesday. I checked my cameras, and I got some pictures of the thief’s vehicle, a white SUV type, picture (above). While watching the video, I also saw them steal another neighbor’s catalytic converter. The sheriff’s office has been notified.

What started with a carjacking reported in the 100 block of SW 112th (map) ended with a crash at 118th/Glendale (map). The King County Sheriff’s Office says this all started just before 1 pm. The crash happened “down an embankment” and seriously injured one person in the vehicle, described by regional media as a teenage girl. KCSO says the carjacking suspects ‘were apprehended.”

SUNDAY NIGHT: King County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a shooting near 14th SW and SW 107th, with at least one victim being taken to the hospital. According to radio exchanges, the call first came in as a drive-by shooting that damaged a vehicle, and then came word that a woman had been shot. One deputy told dispatch there are “casings all over 14th.” The suspect vehicle was described as a gray BMW. That’s all we have so far – we’ll add any updates that become available.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON: KCSO did not answer our followup inquiry Monday but did today. The only update is that the victim is in stable condition; otherwise, the investigation is ongoing.

A 26-year-old man accused of burglarizing a White Center home and assaulting a sheriff’s deputy is charged and expected to be arraigned later this week. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges of residential burglary and third-degree assault against Christopher R. Rodriguez, five and a half months after the incident. Court documents say Rodriguez broke into a house and yards in the 9600 block of 13th SW on the afternoon of September 28th, 2021, and threatened the responding deputies with a hunting knife. They used a Taser to subdue him and take him into custody. Rodriguez has been in jail since March 4th, bail set at $5,000, the sixth time he’s been jailed in six months; he’s also charged in an unrelated case of allegedly eluding police, in January 2021 in SeaTac. He was scheduled for arraignment today but the hearing was postponed until Thursday (March 17th).

Cannabis shops around the metro area have been targeted by armed robbers, and North Highline was hit again at least twice this week. We confirmed with the King County Sheriff’s Office that NimBin Pot Shop (10861 1st Avenue South) was hit Wednesday night around 11:30 pm. KCSO would confirm only that the three robbers left on foot and then may have gotten into a red vehicle. Scanner traffic at the time described it as possibly a Dodge Challenger type vehicle, saying that the three robbers were armed with four guns, and that they escaped with cash. Then tonight another robbery was reported; thanks to Gill for the tip that KING 5 TV reported the nearby West Seattle Marijuana Store (which is not actually in West Seattle) on Myers Way was robbed around 5:30 tonight. KING’s report says “two or three” armed robbers hit the shop and got away.

Deputies have just arrested a man after a relatively short standoff that closed the intersection of 16th and Roxbury as well as streets around it. They say he had threatened them with a knife. He stood at the northeast corner of the intersection with the knife, but eventually moved close enough to deputies with shields that they were able to deploy a Taser and now have him in custody. We’re told the streets should reopen within half an hour (by 10:15-ish).

Peyton sent this report and photo in hopes someone has seen her dad’s work truck:

*STOLEN VEHICLE**
White Ford box truck with 2 LED lights on back and extendable ladder on the side
License plate- C95272L

My dad Sean Sullivan woke up yesterday morning 12/16 to an unimaginable nightmare – his work truck was gone. It was parked in White Center off 14th and 100th in front of the old La Mexicana building. One unit south of WestSide Baby. It was holding an estimated 50-100k worth of tools and equipment. My father started his company about 7 years ago and has worked extremely hard to grow both his company and the tools he had stored in his truck. This is his daily work truck so it had an extensive amount of his important tools as well as his daily working tools, excess parts, extra wire, hundreds of breakers, just about anything you can imagine you would need as an electrical contractor was in this truck. We are hoping someone may have seen or heard something. I can only imagine the heartache my father is feeling having lost what seems like his livelihood..especially with the holiday season right around the corner! If you have any leads or think you may have seen or heard something, please reach out to myself or my father! The police were (alerted) and there is an open case C-21040633 with King County Sheriffs.

Sullivan Electric LLC
Peyton- 425-312-4461
Sean- 206-419-8884

If you see it, also call 911.

At last week’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting (full report to come), King County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Kennamer noted that burglaries were decreasing, and mentioned a possible reason: The arrest of someone believed responsible for multiple burglaries. While he didn’t identify the suspect, we believe we’ve found him via court documents: 34-year-old Nicholas E. Pierce is in King County Jail, charged in four burglaries, all but one in White Center.

The first one happened at a real-estate office near 17th/98th on June 21st. The business had the break-in on video, from which deputies recognized Pierce, because, the documents say, they “have dealt with Pierce for several years.” They arrested him the next day – but a judge released him from jail one day later. A charge of second-degree burglary was filed in August, but Pierce didn’t show up for arraignment. Jail records show he was arrested November 17th and released again after one day, then arrested days later – November 22nd – and has been behind bars ever since. In the meantime, he’s been charged with three more burglaries. On August 20th, he allegedly broke into the burned-out building in the 9600 block of 16th SW and was caught walking out with toolboxes, the owner trailing him recording video until Pierce allegedly threatened to stab him. Then on October 20th he is accused of breaking into Patrick’s Bakery and Café in White Center, also recorded on video, in which he allegedly used some of the restaurant’s knives to pry open the register, though the report says he got away empty-handed. And he is charged with burglarizing the Burien business where he was caught on November 22nd, Mai’s Hair Salon, whose owner saw the burglary on video and called 911. Deputies found him hiding inside, and their report describes him as a “prolific burglar.”

In each of these four cases, Pierce is charged with second-degree burglary, a felony. His past convictions are mostly for domestic violence. He is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail, and is scheduled to be arraigned next week.

Just received from King County Local Services, word of an online public-safety meeting for White Center businesses next Tuesday (October 19th):

Here’s the participation info in clickable format:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://kingcounty.zoom.us/j/85676401136
Meeting ID: 856 7640 1136 / Passcode: SAFEpublic

Dial-in: 253-215-8782 / Passcode: 5584815021

Deputies are searching for a man who just held up the KeyBank in White Center. He is reported to be armed. No description or other details yet.

4:05 PM: Photo added. The bank is closed while deputies gather witness statements. No clear description yet but a getaway vehicle is believed to have been involved. Also, deputies told dispatch the robber gave bank employees a note threatening to shoot if they didn’t hand over cash.

King County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a robbery that was just reported at Nimbin Pot Shop on 1st Avenue South in Top Hat. Deputies were told that three robbers – at least two with guns – held up the store. According to emergency-radio exchanges, they are still working on description information and whether they got away on foot or via vehicle.