Last month the Laurelhurst Blog staff posted about an erratic man (pictured above) seen in Laurelhurst and other nearby neighborhoods scaring adults and children with his unusual behavior.
This included yelling at people, screaming obscenities, banging on car windows while people were stopped at lights, making inappropriate comments in front of children, harassing and scaring people and turning on water faucets full force in front of homes and walking away thereby leaving some houses with the potential of flooding if the residents were gone all day.
There were numerous comments posted on NE Seattle Moms Yahoo Group detailing their interactions with the male and where it occurred.
SPD Officer Strong, informed the Laurelhurst Blog, that the individual was arrested and as of last Wednesday was still in police custody.
The same individual was also arrested last month and then was seen again in nearby neighborhoods. At that time Office Strong told a NE resident as she posted on the NE Seattle Moms Yahoo Group:
Officer Strong told me that in order for him to be arrested for criminal trespassing, a homeowner needs to see him on their property and be willing to testify in court that they saw him trespassing uninvited on their property. Or the police need to arrive while he is still trespassing and the homeowner would need to testify that he was uninvited. Even then, it sounds like he wouldn't get jail time, but at least the court might be able to send him to a mental health facility and actually require that he stay there. Officer Strong said they are all well aware of this man and are working on getting him out of the neighborhood, although that doesn't seem to be a simple task. Officer Strong wanted us to be reminded that they will respond quickly if the 911 call is made during the crime. If officers can get there when he's still committing the violation (ex - trespass), they will observe the misdemeanor crime occurring in their presence, and have the ability to arrest him.Here are some comments that were posted last month before he was arrested:
I saw that man crossing Sand Point Way headed toward Princeton Ave. He has shaved his head and facial hair, but it was definitely him.
This man turned on my faucet at 4am today on the 6000 block of NE 39th Street in Laurelhurst. in the . I heard the water running and saw him. He was "bathing" or drinking from it. The paper delivery scared him away but he left the faucet running.
I was driving by Met Market and he crossed the street in front of me so I stopped to let him cross. He then proceed to approach the car and yell at me. He then smacked the side of my car with his jacket. Another neighbor saw and we both called the authorities. I was told an officer was sent out but have not heard any news about an arrest. He was wearing black pants and a golden yellow shirt. Hope he gets the help he needs.
This morning as my family and I were walking into church at NE 65th Street and 34th Avenue NE an agitated man in dark jeans, a black shirt, glasses with short reddish/brown hair and fair skin, carrying a black sleeping bag approached another family. He asked in a very gruff voice, "Can you give me a dollar or two". He then proceeded into the church. I had told an usher about the recent events in the neighborhood and that this might be the same man. Sure enough, he went in the back, took some donuts, took bites and then threw the remainder of the donuts. The police have been informed.
Kudos to Officer Strong for convincing this man to voluntarily accompany him recently to a mental health treatment center for an evaluation. Unfortunately, the may did not meet the criteria for involuntary commitment and was released when he declined voluntary treatment. Officer Strong is reaching out to other resources within the Police Department to attempt other avenues of assistance. He's literally doing everything he can, and until then, everyone should just do their best to avoid any confrontations with this mentally disturbed individual, and call 911 if you run across him trespassing or harassing you or your neighbors. Do not engage with him, however. It simply isn't worth your safety or the safety of your children should his actions take a turn for the violent.
Has anyone else had someone come onto your property and turn on the outdoor faucets? Thank goodness I am working from home today - I live on 40th and 57th, and I heard the water turn on at around 7:45 this morning. I assumed it was our gardeners who come every couple of weeks. But when I looked outside, I didn't see their car but still heard the water running. I went outside and found that someone had unscrewed all our soaker hoses and turned the water on full blast.
We saw a man standing in front of our house with a sleeping bag over his head. He matches the physical description above, and he was muttering about "aborting a mission," and other phrases that sounded like police radio chatter. It was odd, but he was on the sidewalk and wasn't causing any harm.
We woke up this morning to find our front garden hose pouring water down our hill, with the watering wand attachment removed. We could only guess that the individual we saw last night had something to do with it. We then learned from our Daycare (Pinehurst Child Care Center on 75th and 35th) that an individual matching the description above has been harassing children and making threats to people he encounters. Now reading through this thread, it really does sound like the same person. I called the police to report this guy, but SPD wouldn't record the incident unless it was actually taking place.
We are on 39th near 55th and found our front spigot running this morning around 8am as well - hose disconnected and hose box moved to the side. We will be picking up a faucet lock!
We had an incident this morning with this man, while I was driving our son to school, he lunged at a car stopped at the crosswalk by the Sand Point Church (NE 70th and 48th Ave NE) with his sleeping bag, then tried to lunge at our car. After 4 calls to 911 and 45 minutes of following him around View Ridge and the Hawthorne Hills neighborhood this morning, I was able to meet up with the officers and take them to this man, who happened to be turning on someone's hose right as the police approached him at someone's house on Vassar Avenue between NE 65th and NE 50th. I listened as long as I could to the conversation that followed, and yes he does sounds very intelligent and "normal" but his behavior is far from it as we witnessed this morning. The officers took him to a mental health clinic in South Seattle (I guess the strategy was to take him as far from the neighborhood as possible) and were only able to do so as he agreed to be taken in, that was about 9 am this morning check-in, however if he's not evaluated within 8 hours he is free to go or he chooses not to stay (which seems to be the pattern) he has most likely been released 5 pm today. I followed up with the officer and sounds like the laws are in this man's favor and suspect he will be back at some point, unfortunately ŠŠI was told unless he harms himself or "attacks" or physically harms someone else he pretty much free to roam, as I understand it. And apparently he's been in other cities and other parts of town, and when he is picked up he is usually taken to a mental health facility far from where he was picked up must be a strategy to get the guy out of whatever neighborhood he is currently roaming in.
We have heard that he is lifting car door handles, harassing in a sexually explicit way, following children home from school and approaching children on the street to look at adult websites.
This morning I saw him cross the street in front of a car who had to swerve around him. He stood in the middle of 55th and yelled as the car drove around him. He then politely asked me and the gentleman walking with me for money and then went on his way. He was wearing decent black pants and a black t-shirt, so may have gotten some new clothes.
I spotted him verbally accosting a cyclist at 65th and 20thNE before barging into 3rd Place Books.
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