P-I STAFF
Bail was set at $250,000 Friday for a Tukwila man suspected of running over and killing a pedestrian and leaving the scene of the accident.
The suspect, 29, made his first appearance at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, where he remained in custody. He could face charges of vehicular homicide. Prosecutors have until Monday to make a charging decision, spokesman Dan Donohoe said.
Deputies were called around 11:30 p.m. Thursday after someone reported a body in the road in the 9700 block of Des Moines Memorial Drive, near Boulevard Park. Witnesses said the victim, identified as Albi Mendez-Perez, 22, of Renton, had been struck at least twice by a minivan that sped off, court documents say.
Earlier, the suspect and Mendez-Perez were spotted fighting at nearby Rascal's Casino. They were told to leave and continued fighting in the parking lot. Deputies were called about the fighting but were unable to find either man at the casino.
Security guards recorded the suspect's license plate, which deputies used to track him down after they suspected the victim was one of the two men fighting.
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Saturday, June 28, 2008
river arrested for DUI in fatal head-on crash
By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER
A woman involved in a fatal head-on collision Friday night has been arrested for investigation of driving under the influence.
Washington State Patrol trooper Cliff Pratt said the woman suffered a broken ankle in the crash, but was booked into the King County Jail after treatment.
"She didn't even know her ankle was broken," Pratt said.
The collision happened around 10 p.m. on state Route 18 near the Tiger Mountain Summit, the State Patrol reported.
A woman driving a sedan near the summit crossed into the opposing lanes of traffic and collided head-on with a Volkswagen bug, Pratt said.
While the driver of the sedan was easily extricated, the driver of the bug, a 27-year-old woman, and a male passenger in the sedan, were trapped in the wreckage. Firefighters had to cut both victims out of the vehicles.
Both were said to be in critical condition and one later died, but Pratt was unclear which of the victims was deceased.
The highway was closed in both directions for several hours after the collision to allow troopers to investigate.
P-I REPORTER
A woman involved in a fatal head-on collision Friday night has been arrested for investigation of driving under the influence.
Washington State Patrol trooper Cliff Pratt said the woman suffered a broken ankle in the crash, but was booked into the King County Jail after treatment.
"She didn't even know her ankle was broken," Pratt said.
The collision happened around 10 p.m. on state Route 18 near the Tiger Mountain Summit, the State Patrol reported.
A woman driving a sedan near the summit crossed into the opposing lanes of traffic and collided head-on with a Volkswagen bug, Pratt said.
While the driver of the sedan was easily extricated, the driver of the bug, a 27-year-old woman, and a male passenger in the sedan, were trapped in the wreckage. Firefighters had to cut both victims out of the vehicles.
Both were said to be in critical condition and one later died, but Pratt was unclear which of the victims was deceased.
The highway was closed in both directions for several hours after the collision to allow troopers to investigate.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Registered sex offender sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison in child porn case
A registered sex offender from Des Moines was sentenced today to 17 ½ years in prison for possessing hundreds of images of child pornography...
By Noelene Clark
Seattle Times staff reporter
A registered sex offender from Des Moines was sentenced today to 17 ½ years in prison for possessing hundreds of images of child pornography.
Chief U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik sentenced Kenneth Gouin, 49, to near the 20-year maximum for the offense "for the safety of whatever community Mr. Gouin is released into," he said. Gouin's twin brother, Kevin Gouin, was sentenced in 2006 to 37 months in prison for possession of child pornography for the same incident.
The brothers' sister-in-law alerted Des Moines police that her adolescent son had seen child pornography on the computer the brothers shared, according to testimony and court records. Police found hundreds of printed images and numerous CDs and floppy disks containing child pornography.
Kenneth Gouin admitted he had acquired child pornography via the Internet. He told police that he had saved the images on his computer for years, and that he would regularly spend eight hours a day on the computer, according to court papers.
"He has molested children in the past, and his recent criminal conduct using the most graphic of photographs of child sexual molestation for his own sexual gratification fixes him on the very slippery slope leading to a return to actual molestation when the images no longer suffice," prosecutors said in a sentencing memo.
Kenneth Gouin, who holds Canadian citizenship, fled to Canada following the search and was extradited in October. He was convicted in a bench trial in U.S. District Court in Seattle in March.
He will likely be deported after he serves his prison sentence in the U.S., according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Kenneth Gouin was previously convicted of molesting children between November 1986 and January 1987. Kevin Gouin held no prior convictions, said Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office.
Noelene Clark: 206-464-2321 or nclark@seattletimes.com
By Noelene Clark
Seattle Times staff reporter
A registered sex offender from Des Moines was sentenced today to 17 ½ years in prison for possessing hundreds of images of child pornography.
Chief U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik sentenced Kenneth Gouin, 49, to near the 20-year maximum for the offense "for the safety of whatever community Mr. Gouin is released into," he said. Gouin's twin brother, Kevin Gouin, was sentenced in 2006 to 37 months in prison for possession of child pornography for the same incident.
The brothers' sister-in-law alerted Des Moines police that her adolescent son had seen child pornography on the computer the brothers shared, according to testimony and court records. Police found hundreds of printed images and numerous CDs and floppy disks containing child pornography.
Kenneth Gouin admitted he had acquired child pornography via the Internet. He told police that he had saved the images on his computer for years, and that he would regularly spend eight hours a day on the computer, according to court papers.
"He has molested children in the past, and his recent criminal conduct using the most graphic of photographs of child sexual molestation for his own sexual gratification fixes him on the very slippery slope leading to a return to actual molestation when the images no longer suffice," prosecutors said in a sentencing memo.
Kenneth Gouin, who holds Canadian citizenship, fled to Canada following the search and was extradited in October. He was convicted in a bench trial in U.S. District Court in Seattle in March.
He will likely be deported after he serves his prison sentence in the U.S., according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Kenneth Gouin was previously convicted of molesting children between November 1986 and January 1987. Kevin Gouin held no prior convictions, said Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office.
Noelene Clark: 206-464-2321 or nclark@seattletimes.com
Monday, June 23, 2008
Investigators: Court system unwittingly helping ID thieves
By CHRIS INGALLS / KING 5 News
TACOMA, Wash. – Federal prosecutors have charged a man the KING 5 Investigators profiled last year with identity theft.
But that capture may reveal a more serious problem in the Washington state court system.
Curtis Leon Craft is charged with stealing 13 identities and about $120,000. mostly in Pierce County.
"The criminals are in the imagination business. If they can think up a way to commit identity theft. they will and they'll use it," said Social Security agent Joe Belling.
Craft is one of what the feds say is a growing number of identity thieves using legal name changes to commit their crimes.
In one afternoon, with few questions asked, a citizen can get a new name order signed by a judge and then take it to the Department of Licensing for a new identification.
"Not only are you using the courts. you're using the Department of Licensing, so you're getting legitimate agencies to assist you in committing a fraud." said Belling.
Last July. the KING 5 Investigators found more than 20 legal name changes by Craft, who used the new identities to open bank and credit card accounts. At that time, Social Security agents and King County Sheriff's detectives arrested a ring of identity thieves doing the same thing. They wrote bad checks and ran up credit cards until the accounts were closed and then started over again with a brand new court-ordered name change.
After King County courts realized what was happening. they made some changes to try and close the loophole. Pierce County has not made any changes. but a spokesperson says that system does do a background check on the criminal history of those who try to get their names changed.
TACOMA, Wash. – Federal prosecutors have charged a man the KING 5 Investigators profiled last year with identity theft.
But that capture may reveal a more serious problem in the Washington state court system.
Curtis Leon Craft is charged with stealing 13 identities and about $120,000. mostly in Pierce County.
"The criminals are in the imagination business. If they can think up a way to commit identity theft. they will and they'll use it," said Social Security agent Joe Belling.
Craft is one of what the feds say is a growing number of identity thieves using legal name changes to commit their crimes.
In one afternoon, with few questions asked, a citizen can get a new name order signed by a judge and then take it to the Department of Licensing for a new identification.
"Not only are you using the courts. you're using the Department of Licensing, so you're getting legitimate agencies to assist you in committing a fraud." said Belling.
Last July. the KING 5 Investigators found more than 20 legal name changes by Craft, who used the new identities to open bank and credit card accounts. At that time, Social Security agents and King County Sheriff's detectives arrested a ring of identity thieves doing the same thing. They wrote bad checks and ran up credit cards until the accounts were closed and then started over again with a brand new court-ordered name change.
After King County courts realized what was happening. they made some changes to try and close the loophole. Pierce County has not made any changes. but a spokesperson says that system does do a background check on the criminal history of those who try to get their names changed.
Motorist shot dead on I-5 near Tukwila
By GLENN FARLEY / KING 5 News
TUKWILA, Wash. - Gunfire on Interstate 5 left an 18-year-old man dead and the shooter at large.
The incident occurred at about 2:30 a.m., northbound on I-5 at the Boeing Access Road.
Police say it was no random crime.
"All we know is that the suspect vehicle followed the victim vehicle onto the freeway," said Sgt. Mark Howie. "And as they entered the ramp, the suspect vehicle took several shots at the victim vehicle ahead of him.
The other people in the car then drove the wounded driver to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died.
"I'm not sure if the victim himself was targeted, but the vehicle was targeted. There were several occupants in the vehicle," said Howie.
Police are trying to determine if this is gang related. They still don't have a suspect.
They don't believe there is any connection between the I-5 shooting and another case where shots were fired near the Seattle City limits Saturday night.
"We don't see any connection at this time," said Howie.
Shootings have happened along I-5 before. In 2005, friends on their way out to a late night snack were fired at and the two women in the car were wounded. That was a possible case of road rage.
In 2001, I-5 was shut down shortly after nine in the morning after a convertible carrying two men and a dog was shot at in what police say was a definite case of road range. The men and the dog survived.
But police say in most cases freeway shootings are not random, but are cars that are specifically targeted.
If you were a witness to this crime or have any information, you're asked to call Tukwila Police detectives at 206-431-3891.
TUKWILA, Wash. - Gunfire on Interstate 5 left an 18-year-old man dead and the shooter at large.
The incident occurred at about 2:30 a.m., northbound on I-5 at the Boeing Access Road.
Police say it was no random crime.
"All we know is that the suspect vehicle followed the victim vehicle onto the freeway," said Sgt. Mark Howie. "And as they entered the ramp, the suspect vehicle took several shots at the victim vehicle ahead of him.
The other people in the car then drove the wounded driver to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died.
"I'm not sure if the victim himself was targeted, but the vehicle was targeted. There were several occupants in the vehicle," said Howie.
Police are trying to determine if this is gang related. They still don't have a suspect.
They don't believe there is any connection between the I-5 shooting and another case where shots were fired near the Seattle City limits Saturday night.
"We don't see any connection at this time," said Howie.
Shootings have happened along I-5 before. In 2005, friends on their way out to a late night snack were fired at and the two women in the car were wounded. That was a possible case of road rage.
In 2001, I-5 was shut down shortly after nine in the morning after a convertible carrying two men and a dog was shot at in what police say was a definite case of road range. The men and the dog survived.
But police say in most cases freeway shootings are not random, but are cars that are specifically targeted.
If you were a witness to this crime or have any information, you're asked to call Tukwila Police detectives at 206-431-3891.
Man sentenced in Bellevue jewelry robbery
P-I STAFF
U.S. District Judge James Robart sentenced Sergio Santamaria, 38, of Mexico to 70 months in a federal prison Monday for the September 2007 armed robbery of a jewelry courier in the parking lot of a Bellevue McDonald's restaurant.
Santamaria and two confederates followed the courier from a Seattle hotel to the restaurant in the Factoria neighborhood, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The robbers used their van to block the courier's vehicle, pointed what appeared to be a gun at him and ordered him to turn over his wallet and keys. Then they smashed a back window and stole a pack containing about $221,000 in jewelry. All three robbers were captured after a police chase that ended off Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown told the court in a sentencing memo that agents had been conducting surveillance on Santamaria and others who had traveled to the Seattle area from California with the intent to commit jewelry robberies.
U.S. District Judge James Robart sentenced Sergio Santamaria, 38, of Mexico to 70 months in a federal prison Monday for the September 2007 armed robbery of a jewelry courier in the parking lot of a Bellevue McDonald's restaurant.
Santamaria and two confederates followed the courier from a Seattle hotel to the restaurant in the Factoria neighborhood, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The robbers used their van to block the courier's vehicle, pointed what appeared to be a gun at him and ordered him to turn over his wallet and keys. Then they smashed a back window and stole a pack containing about $221,000 in jewelry. All three robbers were captured after a police chase that ended off Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown told the court in a sentencing memo that agents had been conducting surveillance on Santamaria and others who had traveled to the Seattle area from California with the intent to commit jewelry robberies.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Three dead in separate weekend shootings
Two homicides occurred in King County, one in Pierce
By BRAD WONG
P-I REPORTER
Two men died from fatal shootings over the weekend in King and Pierce counties, making a total of three gun-related homicides in the area since Friday evening.
An 18-year-old man was fatally shot Sunday morning on Interstate 5 near the Boeing Access Road, Tukwila police reported. The shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m. as the man was driving northbound with friends, who were not injured.
His friends rushed him to Harborview Medical Center, where he died, police spokesman Mike Murphy said. Early Sunday, detectives did not have a description of the suspect or the person's vehicle.
In Pierce County on Saturday evening, sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic violence shooting in which they believe an 81-year-old father shot his 58-year-old son.
Deputies arrested the father and said there was a verbal and physical fight between the two men, Detective Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said. They believe one shot was fired.
The shooting occurred in the 22300 block of 30th Avenue East, near Fort Lewis.
In the Friday night incident, a 21-year-old man killed at a party in SeaTac has been identified as Brandon Wilkins, the King County Medical Examiner's Office said Sunday.
A spokesman said Wilkins' death has been ruled a homicide and that he died from a gunshot wound to his head.
King County sheriff's deputies were called at 9:30 p.m. to a home in north SeaTac, said Sgt. John Urquhart, an office spokesman. The man was dead when they arrived. Urquhart said deputies initially were investigating the shooting as accidental.
He said the shooter fled the house.
By BRAD WONG
P-I REPORTER
Two men died from fatal shootings over the weekend in King and Pierce counties, making a total of three gun-related homicides in the area since Friday evening.
An 18-year-old man was fatally shot Sunday morning on Interstate 5 near the Boeing Access Road, Tukwila police reported. The shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m. as the man was driving northbound with friends, who were not injured.
His friends rushed him to Harborview Medical Center, where he died, police spokesman Mike Murphy said. Early Sunday, detectives did not have a description of the suspect or the person's vehicle.
In Pierce County on Saturday evening, sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic violence shooting in which they believe an 81-year-old father shot his 58-year-old son.
Deputies arrested the father and said there was a verbal and physical fight between the two men, Detective Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said. They believe one shot was fired.
The shooting occurred in the 22300 block of 30th Avenue East, near Fort Lewis.
In the Friday night incident, a 21-year-old man killed at a party in SeaTac has been identified as Brandon Wilkins, the King County Medical Examiner's Office said Sunday.
A spokesman said Wilkins' death has been ruled a homicide and that he died from a gunshot wound to his head.
King County sheriff's deputies were called at 9:30 p.m. to a home in north SeaTac, said Sgt. John Urquhart, an office spokesman. The man was dead when they arrived. Urquhart said deputies initially were investigating the shooting as accidental.
He said the shooter fled the house.
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