West Seattle Blog… | CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: “More on this story” after rollover car crash

(Reader photo from Monday, sent by Marie)

Two days ago, the driver was injured in this car crash in California south of Brandon. He was taken to a hospital, the scene was eventually cleared, and we thought that was the end of it. But a commenter revealed last night that there's “more to this story” — that the car was stolen. Neighbors say it was taken from a neighborhood near Fairmount Ravine early Sunday, and another, apparently stolen car was left in its place. So we checked with police, who said that after medical treatment, the 31-year-old man was taken to jail to face charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen weapon, and illegal possession of a weapon. We don't know anything about the weapon, but we did find out that the suspect is not allowed to legally own a weapon because he is a convicted felon. Documents from his most recent conviction in 2019 mention an “extensive criminal history”; this case involved a burglary in West Seattle, and he was ultimately sentenced to six years in prison – with credit for eight months he served before sentencing. He got out of prison last December; records show this was his first time in prison since then. “Was,” we say, because he was released after two days about an hour and a half ago. Among the various agencies we contacted today were the King County District Attorney's Officewho has not filed charges as of today, so his release is required by law. KCPAO spokesman Casey McNerthney told us late today that they had not charged him because they could not:

The information sent to us by police investigators was not legally sufficient to file charges, so the prosecutor handling the case wrote a detailed memo to the investigating detective explaining what is required under state law to make a legally sufficient case. This is not a judgment on the Seattle Police Department – we appreciate their continued work – but rather it is about what prosecutors can and cannot do with the available evidence under the law. It is entirely possible that the investigating Seattle Police Department detective will send us the additional elements for a charging decision.

The suspect has now been released from prison for the time being. And the stolen, overturned car is in a detention facility – its owner sent this photo:

They found some items inside that did not belong to them and said they had difficulty reaching police to clarify the matter. Meanwhile, personal items belonging to them turned up in the car – a blue Chevy Blazer – that had been parked nearby after their car was stolen.