Three patches in West Seattle Crime Watch:
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY INVESTIGATION: On Thursday morning, a reader sent us a text message about what appeared to be a multi-agency raid on a house in Upper Alki. No information was available on that until this SPD post today, and tonight we’ve found out more via court documents. In the initial post, police said: “Detectives with the Seattle Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit took (the 37-year-old suspect) into custody Thursday morning following a lengthy investigation related to child sexual abuse material.” They say he admitted to “uploading CSAM material and communicating with others about online chats with minors” and was booked into King County Jail. He has not yet been charged, but had a hearing this afternoon, where his bail was set at $50,000; he has since posted bail and been released, according to jail records. Probable cause documents say the investigation began last May, when an Internet service provider reported “that a user had uploaded one or more files containing depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct to their account.” Investigators then identified the suspect through internet and phone records. according to King County Prosecutor’s Officethe conditions of the suspect’s release include “no contact with minors without exception, and not accessing the Internet without monitoring software.”
TARGET JUDGMENT: Last week we reported that the trial had started for the 32-year-old Timothy A. Clemanscharged with attempted first-degree kidnapping for attempting to take hostages at knifepoint in Westwood Village Goal shop last year. An hour-long break followed. The trial, in which Clemans represented himself, was expected to last up to two weeks, but our check of court proceedings online this evening reveals that it only lasted one week. According to court documents, Clemans was found guilty as charged, with the addition of being armed with a deadly weapon. He is scheduled for sentencing before a King County Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson on April 7.
FIRE CONDITION POSTPONED AGAIN: Man charged with arson in two-alarm 17th/Barton apartment fire, 35 years old Ermiyas N. Woldearegay, has yet to be arraigned, even though it has been four weeks since the charges were filed. Court documents show his first date was postponed because he was “medically unavailable”; on the second and third dates he refused to come to court. The latest document indicated that Woldearegay’s defense attorney hoped to meet with him to see if the issue of competency “needs to be addressed.” However, the document also said Woldearegay had refused prison visits.
