Latest news with #WashingtonStateLaw
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘No consequences': How teens access stolen guns, and why so many become repeat offenders
If it seems like teenagers are involved in more crimes of gun violence than in the past, and more young teens seem to be caught carrying arsenals of guns, our KIRO 7 investigation confirms, that both of those things are true. According to King County gun violence data, since 2017, 58 teenagers ages 11 to 17 were killed in gun violence in King County alone. According to police and prosecutors, the majority of the triggers were pulled by other teens. Those numbers are trending higher than the previous ten-year span. Multiple police sources tell KIRO 7 they've never seen more teens carrying automatic weapons. Last July, Seattle police caught three teens, two 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old, carrying stolen handguns that had been modified to be fully automatic. KIRO 7 requested evidence photos and details from several police agencies of guns confiscated from teenagers, and they supplied dozens of examples. Three weeks ago, three guns were taken from one teenager after a high-speed chase in Auburn. Auburn police say the guns were stolen and all were modified to be machine guns. 'The least little aggravation and they'll pull out a gun and start shooting,' said Cloyd Steiger, who now teaches homicide detectives, after solving murders for the SPD for 22 years. Lately, Steiger has noticed a clear pattern. 'They just assume nothing's going to happen to them. And you know what? They're right most of the time,' he said. According to Seattle police, a 15-year-old recently arrested in Seattle with a stolen gun in his waistband had been arrested only months before for drive-by shooting with a different stolen gun. According to Title 13 of Washington State Law, the teen had to be released both times without an extended period of detention. On March 5, 2023, when 29-year-old Karel Juarez was gunned down in front of his girlfriend and three-year-old daughter in White Center, 16-year-old Charles Anthony Baker was arrested and charged with his murder. King County Prosecutors discovered Baker had been arrested two previous times with stolen guns in Snohomish County, but state law required Baker to be released from custody each time. Because the latest charge includes a murder case, Baker, who is now 18, is now charged as an adult. He has pleaded not guilty. State law says a juvenile can be arrested for gun possession five times, with five different guns for five different gun-related crimes, before a judge even has the legal option to send a teen to detention for longer than 30 days. Steiger says it's no wonder the same teens make deadly choices again and again. 'Because there are no consequences,' he said. 'You have to have that threat, that hammer of the law over your head that if you don't do these required things, it will fall, and you'll just go away. To wait five convictions is outrageous!' King County Prosecutors told KIRO 7 there are seven teenagers currently charged with either murder or first-degree assault after previously being convicted of unlawful gun possession as a juvenile. Some of the suspects have multiple previous arrests for gun possession, or using a gun in a crime, and all of them were released sooner than the 30-day maximum. State Representative David Hackney, a Democrat from the 11th Legislative District proposed a bill to stiffen penalties for teen gun crimes, but his idea died without even getting a hearing. So where are all the guns coming from? You might see signs in parking lots warning you about this. FBI data shows overall, the vast majority of guns are stolen out of parked cars than anywhere else. In Renton last year, 86% of stolen guns were taken in car prowls. KIRO 7's investigation spanning six years of data shows in Seattle alone — an average of 407 guns are reported stolen every year, the majority coming from car break-ins. From 2018 to 2023, two-thousand, four hundred, and forty guns were reported stolen. In 2005, then Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske reported his Glock 32 stolen from a car parked at 4th and Olive downtown. The gun has never been recovered. Steiger noted once teens acquire stolen guns, they tend to pass them around. 'Frequently we find guns involved in a drive-by over here, it was involved here,' he said. Steiger told KIRO 7 he matched a stolen gun used by a juvenile to another unresolved murder six years before. Same gun, but the trigger was very likely pulled by a different killer. Deputy Chief Ryan Rutledge of the Renton Police Department is trying an innovative approach, that seems to be working. Renton's Violent Crimes Unit is dedicated to getting stolen guns — and teens making violent choices — off the streets. Deputy Chief Ryan Rutledge says the effort has led to a significant drop in juvenile crime since last year. 'We don't believe that just putting somebody in secure detention without any plan is going to be a great idea,' Rutledge said, noting a program called LINC (it stands for leadership intervention and change) works to inspire teen offenders with influence and guidance from mentors, counselors and officers. 'So, while they are in custody it's an intervention,' he said. 'It's a new chance to connect, it's touch point, where that youth has a support system before they get released.' 'They have not attended school for multiple years.' 'We actively ask the judges to hold those children in detention,' said Jamie Kvistad, the Senior Deputy Prosecutor for juvenile crimes in King County. Kvistad told KIRO 7 she charges kids for gun possession virtually every day, and she says one thing connects almost all of them. 'I see these kids screened in on a detention referral, I read their detention screening notes, and it says they have not attended school for multiple years,' she said. Kvistad analyzed almost 60 cases of kids arrested for gun possession, and she found nearly 90 percent had not been enrolled in school. Sometimes, they'd been truant for years. She believes reconnecting at-risk kids with school earlier changes everything. 'I could tell you, it will solve violent crime for juveniles if we could do that,' she said.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
King County audit concludes sheriff's office should be more transparent
The King County Auditor's Office found the King County Sheriff's Office is lacking necessary transparency and accountability for the civil asset forfeiture program, according to an audit released on Tuesday. The auditor's office conducted a review of the King County Sheriff's Office regarding record-keeping connected to seizures involving alleged drug crimes. The audit found that the sheriff's office had seized more than $9 million in cash and dozens of cars and houses since 2017. 'The sheriff's office can seize a person's property when an officer reasonably believes it was acquired, at least partially, from the sale of drugs,' the King County Auditor's website stated. 'Unless the person successfully challenges the seizure, the sheriff's office can legally keep most of the property for its own use.' The agency explained that challenges to seizures are decided by the sheriff unless the person opts for a full court trial. However, auditors said the notifications that a person has a right to challenge the seizure are English-only and 'use inaccurate and potentially confusing language.' The auditor's office also noted that 'the burden of proof to seize assets is lower than a criminal trial, and no arrests or criminal charges are required to seize such property.' The auditor's office stated the sheriff's office records are primarily kept in 'case-specific paper folders, which require intensive research to determine basic facts about the scale or scope of the program as a whole.' It then recommended that the sheriff's office switch to digital record keeping instead of its current paper folder system. On the auditor's office website, the agency explained that being transparent and taking accountability are vital to counteract an abuse of power, especially with the civil asset forfeiture program, where an agency benefits financially. The auditor's office also noted that the sheriff's office is already working to update its system. 'The sheriff's office is already taking steps to strengthen the controls on their civil asset forfeiture process in response to our audit,' King County Auditor Kymber Waltmunson stated via a news release. 'It is encouraging that they are taking improvements to this sensitive, high-dollar practice seriously.' 'The sheriff's office echoed the sentiment made by Waltmunson in a statement to MyNorthwest: We are pleased to note that the auditor recognizes the King County Sheriff's Office as a leader in this field and an example used for best practices and training for other law enforcement agencies. The principle recommendation is to move from a paper-based record system to a centralized digital databank, as well as regular bank-balance reconciliations and providing notices of rights in more accessible language. The audit also emphasized several positive aspects of KCSO's work. Those include: While Washington State Law allows broad authority for law enforcement in seizing private property, the sheriff's office is known for a conservation and restrained approach. The sheriff's office's threshold for asset forfeiture is high-level conspiracy cases instead of minor drug offenses. In most cases, detectives investigating a case conducted the seizures themselves, where they could provide insight and oversight. The sheriff's office employs a dedicated and specialized staff who are adept at navigating this often nuanced and complex work. The audit found no complaints about an abuse of authority or officers working outside the parameters of Washington State Law. Again, the findings in this report focus on improving recordkeeping for overall program management and reducing barriers for claimants. We have already taken steps to address some of the issues identified.'
