Another burglary arrest confirmed by Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen:

We just arrested a subject for Investigation of Burglary in the 8400 blk of 18th Ave SW.  Big kudos to the observant citizens  who reported suspicious activity in the neighborhood.  Our officers were able to quickly respond and apprehend the suspect.  The suspect will be booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Burglary.  Thank you West Seattlites for taking good care of your neighborhoods. Your willingness to call 911 helps us catch criminals!

46-year-old Gatewood resident Duane Starkenburg is now booked for investigation of 2 counts of indecent liberties, in connection with attacks in addition to the one in Lincoln Park for which he was arrested two days ago (first WSB report here). His bail status is currently “denied” – a change from the $25,000 set at yesterday’s hearing (WSB coverage here) – but the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says he has a bail hearing set for this afternoon. This comes hours after Seattle Police released a sketch they say is related to a December attack in the park (see it here), and urged anyone who might have been a victim of “unwanted touching” anywhere in West Seattle to come forward.

ADDED 12:58 PM: According to KCPAO spokesperson Dan Donohoe, the attacks involved in the new potential charges were in August and December. We reported on an August incident here; December is the time frame mentioned in the SPD sketch release last night. We’ll have more details after this afternoon’s bail hearing.

(WSB photo from 47th/Charlestown investigation scene, January 9th)
The driver charged with vehicular assault in the 47th/Charlestown car-vs.-pole crash earlier this month is out of jail – but wasn’t supposed to be, and a warrant is out for his arrest. So confirms Commander William Hayes of the King County Jail, though he tells WSB they are still investigating how the mistake happened. You might recall that after the crash on January 9th, 23-year-old driver Mohammad Nema and his passenger – an estranged girlfriend who had a protection order against him – both wound up in the hospital. She got out a few days later, but he was still in the hospital when we followed up on January 14th – that’s when we reported that, after investigators determining that he had been driving under the influence, prosecutors charged him with vehicular assault/domestic violence. We kept checking the King County Jail Register for signs that he was out of the hospital and in jail – and then suddenly discovered a few days ago that he was listed as having been in jail for about an hour on January 16th, with the release reason listed as “error”:

Trying to find out who could tell us how that happened, we finally spoke this afternoon with Commander Hayes, who says he doesn’t know – in situations like this, patients are supposed to be transferred to county custody before getting out of the hospital, and apparently Nema wasn’t – the arrest warrant filed yesterday says simply that he “left Harborview.” (The brief notation from January 16th was apparently a mistaken “booking in absentia”). Cmdr. Hayes hopes to have more information on the investigation by the end of the week. We’ll be checking on that, and we’ll keep watching to see if Nema turns up in custody; at the time of the crash, he had a Burien address.

New development tonight in the wake of yesterday’s Lincoln Park attack and arrest. Tonight police have gone public with that sketch they say was made because of an attack in the park last December. They want to hear from anyone and everyone who not only might have had a suspicious encounter in the park, but anyone who might have been subject to “unwanted touching” elsewhere in West Seattle. As we reported earlier today, the man arrested yesterday, 46-year-old Duane Starkenburg, is currently charged only in one incident – and police are working hard to see if there are others he might be responsible for. Here’s their full update.

MONDAY MORNING NOTE: Starkenburg’s entry on the jail register now suggests he’s being held without bail – we’re checking on that – and adds “investigation of indecent liberties.”

Thanks to everybody who called/texted/e-mailed to ask about a police response earlier this afternoon in the Lafayette Elementary/West Seattle High School area. It’s taken a while to assemble the information from multiple sources, but now the Southwest Precinct has filled in the blanks. From Lt. Ron Smith: The original call went out as “man with a gun” in the WSHS vicinity just after 12:30 pm. The accompanying description matched someone officers saw walking with others on SW Lander (near Lafayette). They saw one person putting something behind a recycling bin; police stopped the group and found what appeared to be a black handgun behind the bin. Lt. Smith says, “The handgun was a pellet gun painted black to appear like a handgun. When questioned, the suspect observed placing the weapon admitted to hiding the weapon.” The investigation didn’t stop there – police discovered that suspect and “another male” were believed to have robbed someone at a nearby bus stop, asking for a cell phone and a wallet, and taking a pack of cigarettes from a victim’s pockets. Lt. Smith says they found evidence of more victims – and now they are investigating to see if this has anything to do with car prowls and a stolen vehicle that was foundin the same general area. For now, two male juveniles are in custody, for investigation of robbery.

P.S. Here’s the SPD Blotter version of all this, published a few hours after our story.

(added 12:56 pm, :30 from this morning’s hearing; this courtroom has glass between defendants and spectators/media)
We are at the King County Jail, where 46-year-old Duane Starkenburg has just pleaded not guilty to an assault charge stemming from the Lincoln Park jogger attack first reported here yesterday afternoon. Because of his criminal history, as noted in our story from last night, the judge agreed with the city’s request to set his bail at $25,000. His lawyer says Starkenburg just accidentally tripped the victim and tried to apologize, “but she sprinted off.” Also defending him, in a brief interview outside the courtroom with us and multiple TV news crews, his mother Lois Starkenburg, who said her Army-veteran son, currently unemployed, wouldn’t do something like that. His next hearing is set for early February; if he does post bond, he is under orders to stay away from the victim – “I don’t know her,” he assured the judge – and out of Lincoln Park. As for other charges, that will be up to city and county lawyers to review; right now, he is charged only in connection with what happened yesterday, though a similar recent incident was mentioned briefly when the city was arguing for the $25,000 bail.

Side note that we discovered while researching this story; the family is connected to a tragic crime that made regional news 20 years ago. Duane Starkenburg’s parents, longtime West Seattleites, are also the parents of Kimberly Starkenburg, shot dead in 1990 in a multiple-shooting case for which an already-convicted killer named Charles Corliss was found guilty. That case was NOT discussed in the courtroom – it came up while we were researching Duane Starkenburg’s background last night.

Back to this case: The judge allowed video in the courtroom and we will add ours as soon as we are back at headquarters.

We have two accounts of this incident early today in which a watchful neighbor is being lauded for alerting police to a crime in progress – first, from Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Rasmussen:

At about 5:30 this morning a neighbor noticed a white box van parked in the driveway of a vacant house in the 5400 block of 18 SW and also saw what they thought were flashlights flickering inside the house. The neighbor call the police and our officers responded and contacted two subjects, a husband and wife from South Seattle. Officers were able to determine that the suspects didn’t live in the house and were attempting to take the woodstove from the home. The officers also noticed a large number of what appeared to be new items in the van that had Home Depot stickers on them. When the suspect’s story about the items didn’t add up, the officers were able to contact the manager of the West Seattle Home Depot. He identified the two individuals as persons who had tried to take the same items from his store yesterday. He was able to verify that the items were now missing from the store and had not been purchased. Both subjects were arrested for the burglary of the house and the theft from Home Depot.

We’d like to recognize the neighbor who noticed something out of place and called the police and encourage folks to do the same if they notice things that are out of place in their neighborhoods.

ADDED 12:07 PM: Here’s a neighbor’s account, received a bit earlier – the neighbor asked to be anonymous:

A crime report hot on the heels of your good reporting of Benjamin Kinlow and his send-off last night: (reporting this in case anyone e-mails you to ask you why there were 5 police cars at a house in the Puget Ridge neighborhood this morning:)

This morning, around 5:30 or so, 911 was called when a van backed up the driveway to the garage of a house that has been vacant for the last month. the 911 call was made when people were observed walking through the house with flashlights. after a quick description to the 911 dispatcher of what was happening, 3 police officers arrived within minutes. after a little while, 2 more police officers arrived to assist, and according to one officer, items stolen elsewhere were identified in the van. …

Obviously this is proof that reporting suspicious activity is effective and the police are responsive- thank you to SPD.

And thank you to everyone who shares crime reports – whether an arrest happened or didn’t – with WSB and therefore with tens of thousands of your peninsula neighbors. Here’s how to contact us, 24/7. (But when it’s crime, always call the police first!)

ORIGINAL 5:43 PM REPORT: A suspect arrested this afternoon after an attack in Lincoln Park may be responsible for other attacks, according to Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen. He says the female jogger assaulted this afternoon was not physically hurt. After police set up containment, they caught a suspect, and Capt. Paulsen says detectives will be following up for possible ties to other incidents – including previous cases at Lincoln Park. The arrest happened around 4 pm, according to a WSB’er who says his son saw police “tackling someone” at the park around that time. (Checking our archives, an incident last August is the most recent one we’d heard about.)

6:55 PM UPDATE: There’s now a short summary on SPDBlotter, with a few more details:

On January 25th at approximately 3:50 p.m. a 27-year-old female was jogging on the waterfront trail in Lincoln Park (8000 block of Fauntleroy Way SW) when an unknown male suspect ran up behind her and attempted to tackle her by throwing his arms around her legs. The victim was able to break free and get away. The suspect fled eastbound through the park toward Fauntleroy. The suspect was apprehended by responding officers as he attempted to cross Fauntleroy. The victim positively identified the 46-year-old male suspect, who was subsequently booked into the King County Jail for misdemeanor assault.

Sexual Assault Unit detectives are handling the follow up investigation. It it unknown at this time if this suspect is responsible for any other attacks.

According to the jail register, the suspect was booked just before 6 pm; public records list him at a Gatewood address, less than a mile from Lincoln Park. We’re checking on his record.

7:08 PM UPDATE: The suspect, who we will not name until charged, has a 2005 assault charge on his record. The charge says he attacked a woman in Highland Park in what appears to have been a road-rage incident that started on Highway 509; he followed her to her home, where he pulled over, reached inside her car and hit her in the face before grabbing the cell phone she was using to call 911, and ran off. He pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and was sentenced to 3 months in jail (with work release), according to the documents in that case, which also show he had prior convictions for assault, property destruction, and reckless driving in the mid- to late ’90s. He is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow morning.

9:32 PM UPDATE: A WSB commenter says she’s the victim from this afternoon’s incident, and writes:

West Seattle- I am the jogger who was attacked this afternoon. I was running on a trail along the upper part of the cliff. I was also surprised by the attack in broad daylight, and I had passed many people out walking their dogs. This is the only time I have ever ran with my cell phone, I recommend everyone to do this, it’s the only reason they were able to catch him. I called within seconds of it happening.

From WSB’s Katie Meyer at the King County Courthouse: Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque has just agreed to push back the trial of the remaining defendants in the Steve Bushaw murder case to June 1st. The delay was requested given what defense lawyers characterized as dramatic changes in the case once the two people who actually shot Bushaw in The Junction in February 2009, Danny O’Neal and John Sylve, struck plea bargains (as reported here earlier this month) – plus, senior deputy prosecutor James Konat also is leading the case against South Park murder/rape defendant Isaiah Kalebu, which has caused some conflicts. More details from this morning’s court session will be added here later.

We’re back at the King County Courthouse, where today’s open-court proceedings lasted less than an hour as the third week of pre-jury-selection proceedings in the Steve Bushaw murder-case trial began. (Quick backstory: Bushaw, a 26-year-old West Seattleite, died after being shot outside a Junction restaurant/bar on Super Bowl Sunday night in 2009; 4 people were arrested and charged months later, with the allegation it was a revenge plot instigated by the suspicion Bushaw was involved with robbing someone linked to marijuana dealing with which he was involved.) Today’s toplines:

*The lawyer for one of the two defendants who has pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of 2nd-degree murder, Danny O’Neal, announced his client probably will not seek to withdraw that plea. It was raised as a possibility after the other admitted triggerman, John Sylve, made a similar plea agreement, but gave a statement that apparently dramatically contradicted what O’Neal had said. O’Neal will be interviewed shortly by the other defendants’ lawyers.

*A potential witness who apparently was implicated in Sylve’s statement was subpoenaed to be in court today. He was not asked to come into the hearing, but a lawyer has been appointed for him since it is believed he might have to invoke the 5th Amendment (against self-incrimination) if called as a witness. His new lawyer will spend much of today talking with him. (We are not naming him at this point, since he is neither a charged suspect nor an official witness-to-be.)

*A lawyer for one of the two remaining defendants still set for trial, Bryce Huber, asked Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque about her intention regarding his motion to further delay the trial. She didn’t give a final opinion but said she was not inclined to grant it and that as of this point, everyone should proceed as if the jury pool will be brought in this Thursday as scheduled. Court will resume at 9 tomorrow morning.

The father of hate-crime-attack victim Shane McClellan was in Judge Carol Schapira‘s courtroom downtown to hear the sentence for one of his son’s attackers. Before the hearing, Tim McClellan told WSB and TV photographers in the hallway, “Today’s his birthday.” [Afterward, he spoke to the media – part of the interview is in our clip above; we’ll upload a longer clip when we’re back at HQ.]

On Shane’s 17th birthday – eight months after he was beaten and tortured for hours on a Highland Park stairway, by two men who voiced a racist motivation – one of his attackers, 23-year-old Ahmed Y. Mohamed (photo below), has just been sentenced to 69 months in prison, three months short of what prosecutors had asked for.

(Added 4:47 pm, Seattle Times photo by Greg Gilbert, used with permission)
Judge Schapira said this case is “more than a headline. .. We are here not to judge you as a person, but there are consequences for the very serious act to which you have pleaded guilty. … The offense makes no sense to me. … You are a very young man; as negative as this experience as been, as negative as being in prison will be. We hope you will put this behind you, as we all do when making very serious mistakes.”

Prosecutors had recommended the high end of the “standard sentencing range,” which would have been six years. In court, prosecutor Erin Becker said, “This robbery and the actions that occurred during this robbery went far, far beyond (the average robbery) … The (attackers) held him for hours, burned him with lit cigarettes, urinated on him … The victim was a juvenile at the time, and it seems what they were aiming at was not simply robbery.” Tim McClellan decided at the last minute that he would speak to the judge, saying, with difficulty, he “can’t imagine the duration” of what happened to his son, who he says “is doing a lot better.” (Shane was not in court.)

The lawyer for Mohamed said his client was sorry and said alcohol had something to do with it … saying it was his client’s “first experience with alcohol” and noting Mohamed had been drinking Four Loko, the subsequently banned beverage. He also talked about Mohamed, who is a US citizen, having been born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and living in refugee camps when very young. Mohamed’s mother also spoke, apologizing to all involved for her son’s actions, and talking about how he helps care for his disabled sister; he spoke for himself too, apologizing, saying he felt peer pressure to drink, but saying he knows he can become “a better man.” Family members/supporters in the gallery cried as they spoke.

The judge opened her remarks after that by saying she felt sympathy for so many of those involved. But in the end, she pronounced a sentence just short of what prosecutors wanted. Technically, it breaks down to 45 months for the robbery charge, with 12 months concurrent for the malicious-harassment charge; after that, 24 months for the weapons enhancement (a knife was used during the robbery/attack). Mohamed already has been in jail about three months, which will count against the sentence.

WSB was first to report that Mohamed had pleaded guilty to robbery (with weapons enhancement) and malicious harassment (hate crime) – it happened in December, but no one in the news media had noticed; we turned it up while combing through court records on routine followups at the start of January. The second person arrested last fall, 21-year-old Jonathan Baquiring, is in the King County Jail, awaiting trial next month on the same charges.

ADDED 2:46 PM: Tim McClellan spoke to the media after the sentencing, saying he accepts Mohamed’s apology, and that he is generally pleased with how this turned out. He says Shane is doing OK. See part of the interview in the clip we added atop this story; more to come.

Continuing our coverage of the murder trial in the February 2009 West Seattle shooting death of Steve Bushaw: Court is now in recess till 9 am Monday. That originally was projected as the date testimony would begin, but this case hasn’t even gotten to jury selection yet, because of an ongoing series of twists and turns among the four original defendants. Two of them have pleaded guilty in the past two weeks, but one of them may withdraw that plea when court resumes Monday. Details ahead:Read More

(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli)>
Today officially marked the start of the second week of murder-trial proceedings in the case of the deadly West Seattle shooting two years ago of Steve Bushaw – though the case hasn’t even gone to jury selection yet, and might not for a while, depending on how things proceed. Previously, two of the four original defendants – the two accused of actually shooting Bushaw along California SW between Alaska and Edmunds late Super Bowl Sunday night in 2009 – pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of second-degree murder. Danny O’Neal entered his plea eight days ago, as proceedings began; John Sylve pleaded guilty last Friday. The other two were in court today – from left, alleged mastermind Bryce Huber and alleged getaway driver Brandon Chaney:

They remain charged with first-degree murder and with conspiracy to commit murder. After a brief session this morning, King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque recessed court until 1:30 this afternoon to review some of the information that had emerged; the afternoon session was even shorter, and she recessed the case until 9 tomorrow morning. While there were many twists in this morning’s open discussion involving lawyers, the prosecutor and Judge DuBuque, the most noteworthy one involved the statement given by Sylve as part of his plea agreement. It was indicated that his statement might conflict with the one that the other confessed triggerman, O’Neal, gave days earlier. And that, the prosecutor said, might change the deal to recommend the low end of the sentencing range for him. We’ll find out what’s next when court resumes tomorrow morning.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports out of the WSB inbox tonight. First one is about a truck-trailing package thief; second a quick note about an attempted break-in. Read on:Read More

Three break-in reports for West Seattle Crime Watch, plus one potential-prowler sighting that football fans might want to know about, all from the WSB inbox – read on:Read More

The first week of pre-trial motions and discussions in West Seattle’s Steve Bushaw murder case started with a guilty plea, and ended with one. Our partners at the Seattle Times report tonight that, four days after Danny O’Neal, one of two accused triggermen, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement, the other one – John Sylve – struck the same plea bargain. Here’s the Times story. This happened during what was supposed to be a recess in the case until next Tuesday; when proceedings resume then, two defendants remain – alleged mastermind Bryce Huber and alleged getaway driver Brandon Chaney, both still charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting of Bushaw outside Talarico’s in The Junction on Super Bowl Sunday night in February 2009. The documents from today’s announcement are not in the online files yet, so we don’t have full details of the latest plea agreement.