House Bill 1501, a bipartisan effort, debuted on January 23rd in the Washington legislature. The bill would put a number of new provisions in place regarding the attempted illegal purchase of firearms in the state. Approximately 3,900 individuals tried and failed to purchase a gun in 2015 because...
Three men suspected of robbing a diamond courier of $500,000 worth of jewelry were arrested late last month. It was the second such robbery in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac since October. In the January robbery, three masked men attacked the courier at around 6 p.m., as he was approaching his roo...
On New Year's Eve, a drone crashed into the observation deck of the Seattle Space Needle, startling workers as they prepared for city's NYE Fireworks display. At present, no state ordinances exist regarding drones, but that won't necessarily protect the owner in the drone incident from punitive l...
Two men charged as members of a prolific Seattle-area burglary ring were wearing jewelry belonging to one of their victims when they were arrested earlier this week, according to charging documents filed in court. A third member of the crew was arrested earlier. The three-man crew targeted luxur...
Des Moines policemen Joshua Judge and Tyson Teut resigned last month after an accusation that the two planted drug evidence on a suspect. As of yet, no charges have been filed against the officers. A press conference was held by the Des Moines Police Department to announce allegations against the...
Tragedy unfolded in the Puget Sound last week, as police discovered the bodies of a family of four across Kitsap and Mason counties. Police have conclusively determined the deaths were the result of homicidal violence; the details remain sealed pending investigation. No suspects have been named. ...
Washington state's relationship with capital punishment has been complicated at best, at worst it could spur a touch of whiplash. This is understandable given the gravity of the question at hand. The Evergreen State has changed its legislative stance on the death penalty four times since 1914. It...
Vigilante justice backfired for six Washington residents who are now in trouble with the law. One was arrested and held in jail in lieu of $250,000 bond and the others were questioned by police about a home invasion. The incident was the result of a woman being burglarized. The woman learned fro...
A man who stabbed to death a prostitute and started a fire in her apartment in an attempt to hide his crime, was sentenced this month to 30 years in a Washington prison. The 32-year-old was found guilty last month of murder and arson, both in the first degree. The crimes are Class A felonies and...
A Seattle arsonist who is serving a lengthy prison sentence after four firefighters were killed in a blaze he set, will continue paying for his crimes after he leaves prison, according to a decision by the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington. The man is serving a 35-year prison sentence,...
An Oak Harbor man whose drone knocked out a parade goer has been found guilty of reckless endangerment. A six-member jury arrived at the unanimous verdict at the end of a four-day trial earlier this month. The 38-year-old man was piloting the drone at a June 2015 Pride Parade in downtown Seattle...
A Washington man who will face 20 years or more in prison if found guilty of setting off two explosions in recent months, could face additional charges if prosecutors determine his motivation was to harass, intimidate, assault or stalk his ex-girlfriends. The 18-year-old was severely injured by ...
A West Seattle woman was arrested last month and held on $500,000 bond for what prosecutors say is a hate crime she is alleged to have committed in November. The 48-year-old woman used a cellphone to make the 10-minute video of herself on a racist rant while she drove behind one of her neighbors...
Suspects in two recent armed robberies in Washington will potentially face the same punishments if found guilty even though one robber used a real gun and the others used what amounts to a BB gun. Late last month in Olympia, three teens ranging in age from 16 to 19 placed a pizza order but when ...
On December 22, Governor Rick Snyder in Michigan signed a new bill into law which decriminalizes underage drinking. Under the new law, someone charged with a first offense of underage drinking will be ticketed for a civil infraction, which will not go on their permanent record, instead of a crimi...
On December 19, President Barack Obama pardoned 78 people and reduced the sentences of an additional 153 people, the largest number of individual clemencies given by a United States president in a single day and bringing his total up to 1,176. In addition, with this act, the president has officia...
Early this December, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania resident Jacqueline Ross was charged with theft and institutional vandalism when she stole the baby Jesus figurine from a nativity display and left it at the local St. Luke's hospital in a “safe spot” drop off for newborns. She later told police that t...
Police are investigating a Facebook Live video in which a Rhode Island driver intermittently records himself weaving in and out of traffic and his speedometer measuring speeds of up to 116 miles per hour before he loses control of his vehicle and crashes into a garbage truck and cement barrier. 2...
Adam Crasper, a former resident of Vancouver, Washington who had been adopted from Korea by an American family at the age of 3, was deported to his country of birth by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in late November of 2016. Crasper had been detained at a center in Tacoma, WA sinc...
In an attempt to address recent protests in Seattle, Washington State Sen. Doug Erikson of Ferndale has proposed a bill that would create a new class C felony called “economic terrorism.” This bill would allow felony prosecution of those who disrupt economic activity in a variety of ways, such as...
Two drivers in recent weeks have been charged with negligent driving after crashing on Washington roads. "Negligent," under the Revised Code of Washington, means the driver failed to exercise ordinary care and did something a reasonably careful person would not have done in the same circumstance...
A 23-year-old man was sentenced this month to more than 30 years in prison for the drug-related shootings of a Tacoma-area couple. Brett Ashdon Dollens pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the December 2015 homicides of an engaged couple who were in ...
A mother charged with two counts of international parental kidnapping has been sentenced to 13 months in federal prison for fleeing the country with her sons. The 42-year-old mother is from California. Her two sons, ages 9 and 15 at the time of the abduction, live in Washington with their father...
Two people have been arrested in connection with the assault and robbery of a Washington-based reality television personality. Earlier this month, Jake Harris, 33, a cast member on the reality TV series “Deadliest Catch,” was robbed after leaving a casino near Everett and left unconscious on the...
Although penalties for the crime of poaching are minimal in Washington, the slaughter of a female elk and her four calves earlier this month has prompted a reward of $4,000 to identify the killer or killers. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is investigating the killings they believe occ...
