Convicted felon Jahmed Haynes attacked the car of Seattle dog handler Ruth Dalton and killed her

An eight-time Seattle felon is accused of robbing and killing a popular 80-year-old dog owner's car in broad daylight on Tuesday before fatally stabbing her beloved puppy.

Jahmed Haynes, 48, is suspected of stealing 80-year-old Ruth Dalton's car shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Martin Luther King Junior Way East and East Harrison Street in the Madison Valley neighborhood, 2.8 miles northeast of downtown Seattle, according to Seattle police.

SPD Deputy Chief Eric Barden said Haynes got into the passenger side of Dalton's blue Subaru SUV and tried to push her out the driver's door while at least two dogs were in the vehicle.

Dalton was dragged from the car during a struggle with Haynes, while the criminal veered off the road and crashed into a flowerpot and a grassy area.

“That was the moment when citizens stopped their cars on the street to help (Dalton),” Barden said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

“One of the citizens came to the car to confront the suspect and (Haynes) pulled out a knife.”

The witness backed away and grabbed a “large stick or baseball bat” to confront the car thief.

Haynes backed the vehicle into two parked cars, hitting Dalton and leaving him to die.

Haynes fled the scene in Dalton's car while witnesses attempted to save his life.

After her death, Dalton was remembered as a lovable neighbor.

“She's someone that people really loved, and she's been a fixture in the Madison Park neighborhood for a long time,” Susan Lindsay, Dalton's friend, told KOMO. “She's going to be missed a lot, and people really loved her.”

“I hope she rests in peace. We all love her, everyone loves her, and I know she looks down on us,” Melanie Roberts, Dalton's granddaughter, told the outlet. “She was spirited. I'm not surprised in the least that she tried to make sure her client's dogs were safe. She wouldn't have thought about herself for a second.”

At around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, police received a report that a man had “injured a dog” at Brighton Playfield in the Hillman City neighborhood, about 8.8 kilometers from the scene of the car theft.

“An animal control officer dispatched to the scene found a dog stabbed to death,” Barden said.

The dog's collar indicated that the dead dog belonged to Dalton.

The family identified the dog as one of Dalton's dogs named Prince, the outlet said.

Seattle police arrested Haynes for murder and animal cruelty.

Police are unclear how Haynes managed to escape from Brighton Playfield. They found Dalton's abandoned car nearby with a cracked windscreen and damage to the rear.

Detectives later linked Haynes to both crime scenes using a fingerprint found on Dalton's phone.

A SWAT team arrested the suspected killer near his Capitol Hill residence.

After the arrest, police found a bloody knife and the keys from the stolen vehicle.

He was booked into the King County Correctional Facility.

Homicide investigators are expected to seek charges of first-degree murder under the murder rule and first-degree cruelty to animals.

Haynes has a “history of mental health issues,” Barden said.

He was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run in 1993, pleaded guilty to possession of controlled substances on school property in 1995 and was convicted of aggravated robbery in 1999, according to court records obtained by The Post.

According to Barden, his last arrest occurred in 2005 in an unspecified case.