TV news reports are highlighting a June Capitol Hill apartment break-in as the latest example of Seattle’s soft approach to crime even as mental health evaluation required by state law determined that the suspect in the incident is not competent to stand trial and a mental health evaluation apparently deemed the man fit for release from King County Jail.
“A 46-year-old man was arrested for breaking into an occupied Capitol Hill apartment armed with an axe, a hatchet and a spiked glove was released from jail without charges Monday — after state case workers concluded he is incompetent and unable to defend himself in court,” KIRO reports. “A couple living in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood is frustrated that a man who allegedly entered their apartment last month will not have a criminal case against him move forward,” KING added in its story on the break-in.
SPD detailed the June 16th arrest in a “significant incident report” posted here describing the apartment’s resident arming himself with a handgun during the break-in:
On 6-16-21 at 0848 hours, uniformed officers responded to the 500 block of Summit Ave. to a reported burglary in progress with the homeowner who put the suspect at gunpoint. The suspect then left the residence by way of a second floor balcony down to the ground below and was currently in the alley. Officers responded to the area and located the suspect in the alley to the south of the victim’s apartment building. The victim was able to positively identify the suspect and also advised that during the confrontation inside his apartment the suspect had armed himself with an axe (two sided/bladed) and attempted to threaten/intimidate the victim who was armed with a handgun.
Police say the suspect was arrested and eventually booked into King County Jail but the incident did not qualify as a felony burglary because he had entered through an open door and did not pull out the axe during the incident.
Charged with a trespassing misdemeanor, the suspect was ordered to undergo an evaluation in which a psychologist found the 46-year-old exhibited mental illness and “delusional beliefs” but reported that he “denied imminent intent to harm himself” and “denied imminent intent to harm anyone else.” Due to symptoms of his mental illness, the evaluator said she believes the man lacks the “capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings against him, and he lacks the capacity to assist in his defense.” The evaluator also said the “nature of the alleged offense” did not meet state criteria for “competency restoration.”
Following the recommendation, the criminal case was dismissed in a July 1st order that also required the man to be evaluated for referral to a treatment facility. King County Jail records show he was released from custody Tuesday morning. Public records do not detail what referral the man received due to privacy laws.
HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.
I used to be a social worker for folks like this. It’s hard as hell to deal with but hopefully he got into a facility and is getting treatment. It’s pointless to try a person in an ongoing mental health crisis and jails (especially KCJ) aren’t the right place either.
Wish there were better ways forward but until we have enough capacity and budget to get people like him on the right track (housing, meds, ongoing treatment and oversight) there will be situations like this. Just glad no one got hurt.
We have no information about whether anyone got hurt. Mental health is health, right? PTSD in particular has well-known neurobiological features.
It’s only reasonable to imagine that having to hold off an axe-wielding maniac in your own home has a good chance of leaving someone with prolonged trauma.
My deep condolences to the victims, whatever their situation may be.
Whatever the reason for his release, this is a terrible outcome. He should remain in some form of custody until his competency is restored. Another mentally ill axe wielder roams the streets.
Actually he’s not on the streets. He was referred to and transferred to an appropriate facility, if you read the article. Also, look to the image at the top of the article, where the box that says “Released” is not checked. I accept your apology in advance.
The article says he was released from custody on Tuesday after charges were dismissed. Apology? I don’t think so.
That just means he was released from police custody, and into the care of a service provider to which he was referred. As in “not in county jail anymore.” So an apology is in order, you are categorically wrong: the man was placed in a facility, like I was when I participated in the mental health diversion program, as required by law. It’s okay to admit that you have no first hand knowledge of what you’re talking about. Acceptance is the first step towards change.
Seem to me that you are adding some information, that to a mere ordinary person like me reading this, is buried between the lines. You draw conclusions that very well may be true, but were not part of the article. It’s interesting that a person who presents themselves with such a superior intellect feels it necessary to attempt to demean a fellow commenter. Do you really need an apology?
He was on the streets though, and considering his ridiculous record, mental health professionals might be advised to seek mental health services themselves.
I’m sure you know best, Sal. Bless your heart.
Same guy murdered, then burned the body, of a 14 month old in 1999. Because they burned to body, charges were only manslaughter and not murder.
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19990310&slug=2948581
This is the guy our criminal justice system just decided was fit to walk the streets of Seattle.
I know you’re just here to lob some zingers at the City of Seattle, which you clearly have no love for, but I’d recommend reading about the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 and its subsequent repeal by Reagan with the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 to pay for tax cuts on the wealthy, to see how we got here.
Trickle down economics baby!
Building off of that, if someone serves the sentence for manslaughter and yet commits recidivism perhaps that says more about the system that punished them instead of rehabilitating them. That’s a long time in custody with no improvement, and indeed a failure of the criminal justice system.
The mental health diversion sort of loses the plot at some point. We may or may not have mental health care capable of dealing with this guy, so let’s just let him roam free in the meantime. Who cares if he assaults or robs or burns babies again.
Ad hominems on me, or 40 year old cites about Reagan don’t change the fact that Seattle’s leadership is completely out of ideas, and willing to let Seattle’s residents be target practice for their latest theories of social justice.
First, let’s acknowledge that Seattle isn’t full of ax wielding mentally ill individuals setting fire to babies nor using “Seattle residents for target practice”.
These are isolated incidents that get blown up by certain individuals *cough* Dori Monson *cough* to try to paint Seattle as some manner of desolate wasteland, solely because they can’t stand to see successful liberal or progressive cities.
Going to use this fancy bulleted list feature here:
At first I didn’t believe this, but wow, this is actually the reality. Why on earth does this person need to be out in society? He has proven he is incredibly dangerous and continues to be a threat. Clearly, he’ll be making the news again.
Fixed the headline to reflect the legal facts of the case:
Why the man in the Capitol Hill ‘axe-carrying’ trespass isn’t in jail
Don’t you find it to be more than a bit ridiculous that because someone had their *second story balcony door* open on a hot day that it’s just a ‘trespass’ and not a break-in…. irony – had he crawled in an open window that probably would have been considered to be enough “force” to call it B&E…
The guy left via the balcony. There’s no record how he entered the home, and it doesn’t actually matter. Washington actually doesn’t have a statute for “break-in” or “breaking and entering”. Burglary is trespassing either with the intent to commit a crime or when armed with a deadly weapon.
If a burglary charge couldn’t stick in this case, the guy probably had the axe in a backpack or something.
Actually there is a record, and in this case saying there literally is, is appropriate, as there is a video recording of him doing it – both news stories indicate the man climbed up on the balcony to enter the house…. They do say it’s technically a first floor apartment, but the balcony is not at ground level… the guy climbed up on a dumpster to be able to reach the balcony and then over the balcony railing to gain access to the ‘open’ door. I still contend had it been a window, it may well have been treated differently.
The story above mentions the ‘open door’ as a reason he wasn’t charged with burglary…. so it’s not ridiculous to assume that had the door been closed that he may well have.
Public records do say that he was referred to WSH – Western State Hospital. He should have been transferred directly there, and he may have been but that detail isn’t public. If he wasn’t, it would be just one more instance of the state failing to pay for enough mental health beds to meet their obligations – https://www.columbian.com/news/2020/nov/02/inmates-with-mental-illness-are-illegally-stuck-in-washington-jails/