Left: Aaron McClure, before, and right, after being assaulted in the parking lot of the Burien Fred Meyer on Oct. 5th.

On Wednesday night, Oct. 5th around 9:45 p.m., Aaron McClure (pictured above), 34, was struck in the head by an unknown assailant in the parking lot of the Burien Fred Meyer and severely injured.

According to his parents:

“The result put Aaron in the hospital with a skull fracture, a severe concussion, a large gash across his nose and blood and air in his brain.

It will be a long, long time before Aaron is close to normal again.

Aaron does remember that there were other cars and people in the parking lot.”

The case is still under investigation.

“Please help stop the yellow bellied, beady eyed, slime sucking coward who did this to Aaron from hurting you or someone close to you,” the McClures added via email.

According to his Facebook Page, McClure is a 1996 graduate of Highline High School.

The McClures and the King County Sheriff’s Office are asking if anyone knows anything about this incident to please call the Major Crimes Unit at (206) 296-7530. Any information will be helpful and all is confidential.

With the news of Thursday’s pit bull attack on former Burien Mayor Sally Nelson and one other woman (read our coverage here), the Comment Wars have been flying fast and furious on The B-Town Blog, between both the anti and pro-pit bull camps.

“When is Burien going to get on board with several other cities and ban this breed from our city,” reads a Comment from Julies. “If we wait, many cities around us will ban the breed which will drive the owners of this breed to seek refuge in Burien that tolerates attacks on innocent victims such as children, adults, big dogs, little dogs, cats.”

Another Reader called RECOND1940, who claims to be a friend and neighbor of the dogs’ owners says: “The dogs did not run off biting people it happend in there yard the mayor tried putting the dogs back inside the house, I know exactly whats going on because my whole family is out there looking for the dog kaleb.”

There’s a second Comment War happening on our Facebook Page as well (with 54 and counting on Thursday’s story), which you can read here.

To read the Comment threads yourself, click here for ones on the original story, and here for today’s update.

Some of the more interesting Comments we’ve read include:

Bernice Bellamy says: (July 7, 2011 at 5:16 pm)
Given how screwed up Burien’s Animal Services are maybe this is just karma. Sorry someone was hurt and very sad to hear a dog was killed and I’m sure the other one — when found – will be shot and killed by the cops, too. This is what happens when you have irresponsible owners, an irresponsible city council and a city manager that doesn’t have a clue about animal care and control. Sad for all animals in Burien with the awful system they have now.

Eaton B. Verz says: (July 7, 2011 at 5:17 pm)
Now that’s how you take care of a vicious dog on the loose! City council please take note! That officer eliminated the problem and saved the cost of transporting it toYakima! Now, let’s find the owner. I’m sure CARES is hot on the trail…….

local says: (July 7, 2011 at 6:14 pm)
A helicopter? For a DOG. Really,Burien? Could you please use that money to shut down the crack house next door that I reported a few months ago?

Julies ays: (July 7, 2011 at 11:48 pm )
I live in this area and last year I had a pit bull in my backyard that easily cleared a 4 foot fence more than once. I have 2 dogs, 2 cats and a 2 year old grandchild, fortunately none were in the back yard at the time and when I attempted to scare him away from my glass door, he didn’t budge till he left on his own terms.

Why do I have to be worried about a loose unpredictable breed like a pit bull to enter my fenced yard. When is Burien going to get on board with several other cities and ban this breed from our city. If we wait, many cities around us will ban the breed which will drive the owners of this breed to seek refuge in Burien that tolerates attacks on innocent victims such as children, adults, big dogs, little dogs, cats. With so many breeds to choose from why would someone want a dog like this unless they need protection from what ? Drug dealers ?? Gang members ??
Do you want your daughter or son, (many times a child will not survive an attack)grandchild, elderly parent taking a stroll, you, walking your dog or your cat in his own yard. Let’s think about the rights of the innocent not the rights of those who wish to own a breed such as this.

kaleb says: (July 8, 2011 at 2:01 pm)
recon19d40 – well trained dogs will not run off and bite people because someone broke into their house. the dogs weren’t even on their own property when someone was bit. it’s getting really old to hear about all the wonderful, calm, great dogs that are perfect around children and the dog ends up attacking or kiling someone. it doesn’t matter if it’s a pit bull or other breeed. know your dogs.

a pit bull that “likes to nip like a puppy” hasn’t been properly trained. you don’t let any dog continue with that behavior especially a large dog. these dogs were not trained and socialized like they should be.

RECON19d40 says: (July 8, 2011 at 2:07 pm)
were you there? the dogs did not run off biting people it happend in there yard the mayor tried putting the dogs back inside the house, I know exactly whats going on because my whole family is out there looking for the dog kaleb. I have a dog that does the same thing and if she was mauled by the dog and felt threatened why would she try and put the dogs back in the house so nothing happend? I am sure you would rather think the owners are horrible people you know nothing about these dogs

Eaton B. Verz says: (July 8, 2011 at 4:41 pm)
Vicious dog attacking people = dead dog…happy outcome! All of recons spewings do not alter the fact of two attacks. Dogs that attack should be removed fron society. Dogs are born in litters, humans, not so easy to replace. Sorry, no sympathy here….

In an attempt to get some idea of where our Readers stand on this issue that doesn’t involve name-calling, we’ve created a simple Poll – please take it and let’s see what the public (or at least the BTB audience) thinks (NOTE: this Poll is our own; far as we know, the City of Burien is NOT considering banning pit bulls):

Burien's Maplewild Ave SW was blocked in the 15600 block Thursday as police scoured the area searching for one of two pit bulls involved in attacks on two women.

Story & Photo by Scott Schaefer

Former Burien Mayor and founding City Councilmember Sally Nelson was one of two women attacked by two pit bulls Thursday afternoon (July 7) around 1 p.m. in the 15600 block of Maplewild Ave SW.

Police officers shot and killed one of the dogs, while a second one escaped.

There was a huge police turnout, including numerous cruisers, aid units and a chopper overhead assisting in searching for the second pit bull, which was not found.

Several Burien and King County Sheriff’s cruisers were on the scene as was BTB Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer, who spoke with Brandon, a neighbor who heard a woman screaming and called 911.

Former Burien Mayor and founding councilmember Sally Nelson was attacked by a pit bull on her property Thursday afternoon (July 7).

“I was home watching TV when I heard screaming,” he said. “I came out of my home and saw two pit bulls running around, and a woman with a stroller injured. I checked on her, saw that she and her kid were both okay, then called 911.”

Brandon says that police responded quickly, and tried unsuccessfully to catch the loose dogs with a Taser. However, some 30-minutes later, Sally Nelson came out to talk with the police. As she was returning to her home, she was attacked and bitten in the leg, and reports are that police pulled the dog off her and shot it right there in her yard.

Maureen Hoffmann, who lives in the neighborhood, confirmed that the second victim was indeed Sally Nelson.

Here are some more details:

• Neither woman was seriously injured; reports are that Sally Nelson apparently just got a tetanus shot and stayed at home.
• Maplewild was blocked for a while as police scoured the area for the second pit bull.
• The first pit bull lay dead in the back of a truck owned by Burien CARES, the new animal control. This was witnessed by Schaefer on the scene.
• Debra George of Burien CARES says that the still-escaped pit bull is “mostly red, with a little bit of white.”

Attorney Christopher M. Davis wrote an interesting piece on his blog Tuesday (Sept. 21st), about his Burien client Jeanette Cunningham’s case about a “dangerous” pit bull dog that attacked her in July (we first covered this story here and here).

As many of our Readers will recall, Jeanette had to have major facial surgery to “get her smile back” because of the attack. Her face was disfigured in the attack, with the majority of the damage done to her mouth and chin area, caused by the dog jumping up and biting her face. A fundraiser auction was held for her Aug. 31st, and over $5,500 was raised for her.

A hearing was held in Burien this morning, where it was discovered that Burien’s animal control department had already released the pit bull back to its owners. Apparently city laws only permit it to “ban” animals from city limits, not to destroy or euthanize the dog.

Davis writes:

This morning I attended a “Dangerous Dog” hearing in the City of Burien. The hearing involved an appeal by the owners of a dangerous pit bull dog. The owners were appealing the City’s determination that the dog was dangerous and should be banned from the city limits.

The dog owners, Gabriele and Juan Garcia, appealed the City of Burien’s decision to declare the animal dangerous and then ban it from the City. That determination was eventually upheld by the hearing examiner this morning (Tuesday, Sept. 21).

The dog owner testified this morning that the animal has since gone to live with relatives in the City of Yakima where it will likely live out the remainder of its life. What’s unclear is whether the City of Yakima has any idea that a dangerous dog is now living within its boundaries. My guess is that it has no idea, particularly when the City of Yakima also has a law banning pit bulls.

Nonetheless, I have to seriously question the wisdom of the City of Burien for not adopting a dangerous dog ordinance that allows it to euthanize an animal that has already seriously maimed and disfigured a human being within its boundaries.

Read the rest of Davis’ blog here.

Here’s a video report by Q13 Fox on this story:

Here’s another from KING-TV:

So what do YOU think? Should the city have euthanized the pit bull or not? Please take our Poll or leave a Comment below:

by Scott Schaefer

“I just want to get my smile back…”

Those words came from the disfigured mouth of Burien resident Jeanette Cunningham, who we met at the Farmers Market on Thursday, Aug. 26th.

Jeanette “lost” her smile when she was attacked by a pit bull while crossing a Burien street on July 24th. Her face was disfigured in the attack, with the majority of the damage done to her mouth and chin area, caused by the dog jumping up and biting her face.

She has had surgery, but will be needing more.

Jeanette needs her “smile back,” because she works as a Server at a local hotel, and we all know how important smiles are in that industry.

Jeanette’s friends will be holding a Benefit Auction to help raise money for her day-to-day needs on Tuesday, Aug. 31st, from 7pm – 10pm at The Mark Restaurant, located at 918 SW 152nd in Olde Burien.

They’re seeking help in two ways:

1. Donations for the auction. Any type or size of item would be very appreciated. Drop any item off at Mark Restaurant or call and they will come pick them up.
2. Guests for the auction. Show up Tuesday, Aug. 31st, starting at 7pm and bid on some really cool Auction Items. There will also be Drink Specials along with appetizers.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Benefit Auction for pit bull mauling victim Jeanette Cunningham.

WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 31st from 7pm – 10pm.

WHERE: The Mark Restaurant, located at 918 SW 152nd in Olde Burien (206-241-MARK).

INFO: For more info on dog bite law in Washington State, click here to download a PDF doc called “When the Dog Bites” by Attorney Christopher M. Davis.

From an email:

Help us help our friend!

A wonderful friend to the Mark Restaurant and to many in the community, Jeanette Cunningham, was attacked by a pit bull in Burien on Saturday, July 24th.

The pit bull disfigured her face, with the majority of the damage to her mouth and chin area. She has had surgery, but will be needing more corrective surgery.

Her husband has been absolutely amazing. He has been by her side and taking wonderful care of her. Unfortunately, he has been laid off, and is just now going back to work part time.

Her friends and colleagues would like to put together a benefit auction to help raise money for her day-to-day needs.

Pit bull attack victim Jeanette Cunningham just wants her smile back.

by Mark Neuman

Inga Isakson told The B-Town Blog previously how she attempted to free Snaps, a Pit Bull, from the beating four young people were putting him through one sunny Sunday evening this past June north of SeaTac airport.

The oldest of the children, a girl who was 15-years old at the time, turned on Inga, hitting her repeatedly, then siccing the Pit Bull on her, as well as on another woman who came to Inga’s aid.

Inga attended the girl’s sentencing hearing this past October and addressed the court, speaking directly to the girl, who had subsequently reached her sixteenth birthday.

“At the sentencing I just stood and spoke from my heart,” Inga told us. “I told (the girl) I was beaten horribly as a child.

“When the girl was beating me it reminded me of  my childhood. It all came back to me.

“I told her in court that I come from a broken home. I had terrible stepdads, six of them. It (the girl’s actions) brought it all back to me. All that horror of being beaten.

“And (the girl) just fell apart in court. She just started sobbing and sobbing. She couldn’t stop crying. It was real, true crying.

"Snaps," the abused Pit Bull used in the attack last June.

“‘I think that your parents should be going to jail for this,’ I told her. I said ‘I wish they could go to jail for you. But you need to learn that what you did was wrong.’

“I said to her ‘I think there is a beautiful person in you. You just snapped that day. I’d like to be an advocate for you.’

“And then they had her talk. And she was crying so hard.”

Inga told us that the girl said in court that every night she would pray that Inga would forgive her, and that she knew what she did was terrible.

“She has been a kid raising herself. She was lost,” Inga said

The girl wrote a letter to Inga a few weeks after sentencing.

“I wrote her back and told her she is going to run into every kind of person (at the juvenile center) and to try to find her passion, and find people who could help her find the beautiful person that is inside her,” Inga said.

In her letter Inga told the girl “she’s going to be challenged every day and to try to hold up under it. I tried to give her advice and be friendly.

“I told her ‘to do what you’re supposed to do.’”

Inga shows the scars from the attack in her left arm.

The girl, in her letter to Inga, said she was embarrassed about what had happened and that she has been praying that she would be forgiven and that she still can’t believe that Inga was willing to forgive her.

“She wrote it with a pencil, a full page letter. I really liked her thinking. She obviously is a smart girl.”

The girl’s father spoke at the hearing.

Inga quoted him as saying: “I am (the girl’s) real father. I lost contact with her when she was six months old. I take as much responsibility as anybody in this courtroom as to why she is the way she is because I have been a completely absent father.

“I want to try to be with my daughter. I know it’s really late, but I want to see what I can do.”

“I hope that her dad does what he says he’s going to do,” Inga said. “Maybe he can go to her. I can’t imagine her going back to (her original) school after being in juvenile detention for a year. She’d just get taunted and torn apart.

“I want to know how the story goes for her.

“People have got to step up,” Inga Isakson told us. “Our communities are going downhill. But I believe if we all take a step to make our communities better, that’s all it takes. It’s just one step at a time.

And I’ll do it.”

Story and Photos by Mark Neuman

I sat down recently for an exclusive interview with one of the survivors of a beating and animal attack last summer in the SeaTac neighborhood.

The attack has made famous a Pit Bull named Snaps (read our previous coverage here), and resulted in a teenage girl being sentenced to over a year in jail.

To begin to understand what happened that June 21, a sunny Sunday evening, one must realize that Inga Isakson has been, informally, a rescuer of abused dogs for some time.

“In the past, I have offered to BUY dogs from people when it’s obvious they’ve been mistreating them,” Inga said over coffee in a Burien restaurant.

“I have rescued dogs for about ten years all by myself. I have taken many of the dogs to a halfway house in north Seattle where a kind and wonderful elderly gentleman takes care of them.

“June 21st was Father’s Day. It also happened to be the longest day of the year,” Inga said. “It was really hot and really light out. I was going to run my (two) dogs at around 6pm or so. I was in my car driving” southbound through the Sea-Tac area, north of the airport.

“I noticed movement to my right. All I could see were silhouettes behind a tree covered with ivy.”

The silhouettes, as it turned out, were those of a then 15-year old girl and three younger boys. The were kicking and beating a Pit Bull, about a year old.

“So I understood these kids were hiding. If I were an artist I would draw the silhouettes because the image is stuck in my mind,” Inga recollected. “These four silhouettes images were bent over. Eight fists and eight feet pounding and pummeling some living thing on the ground.

“And so I slowed down to get to the other side of the tree to see what was going on. I did not know if they were beating up a child or what.”

Inga pulled her car closer to the four young people.

"Snaps," the abused Pit Bull used in the attack last June.

“I realized it was a dog and I realized I needed to think fast. I did not want to seem to be challenging them. I knew they were doing something wrong.

“I rolled down the passenger side window about ten inches. The door was locked.

“I needed the dog to not be with them. I also knew there were four of them and one of me.

“I called out: ‘Are you kids okay?’ Really, I wanted to say something else. I did not want them to feel they were in a fight with me,” Inga told us. “The oldest, who was a young woman (fifteen years of age), came so close to my car window, she was in my space, that close.

“And it bothered me. I felt challenged, which I tried to avoid. I was trying to be nice.

“Her face was right in my window. She said ‘What do you want, bitch? This is none of your business. I can kill my dog if I want to.’

“She was screaming at me: ‘What are you, the cops?’

“‘I could be,’ I responded. ‘Would you like me to call them?’

“She reached in through my passenger window and unlocked my door. Oh boy!

“She just jumped in my car and grabbed me by my hair. Started ripping my hair out and screaming at me: ‘You bitch! You bitch! I wish you were dead!’

“I had my cell phone in my left hand. I extended my left arm away from her and tried to dial 9-1-1 with my left hand.

“She was yanking at me. My seat belt, which was still fastened, was kind of hanging me.

“But she saw the cell phone in my hand so she let go of my hair and grabbed the cell phone out of my hand.

“She had ripped a lot of the hair out of the right side of my head. She started hitting me on the right side of my head with my cell phone, while pulling my hair with her free hand.

“The attack  seemed to last two minutes. I was able to unfasten my seat belt and was able to elbow her with my right arm.”

Inga ran from her car and managed to get to middle of Des Moines Memorial Drive screaming “call 9-1-1! Call 9-1-1!” over and over.

Inga shows where Snaps bit her leg.

“I thought it (the attack) was over. Then she (the girl) ran around the back of my car and attacked me again.

“The girl kneed me. I put my hands up to cover my head.

“Meanwhile, my brain said there are cars stopped. Someone has GOT to help me!” Inga said.

“There were about seven cars, three or four stopped” in both the northbound and southbound lanes.

She estimated the attack in the street lasted seven minutes.

The people in the seven cars watched, apparently doing nothing to help her. This was in a residential area with houses set back from the road.

“I’ll never forget this one woman in a grey sedan, just her, no passengers in her car,” Inga recalled. “She was about in her mid-50’s with blondish or grey curly hair. She just sat there and watched and did nothing.

“She seemed embarrassed! Like a wimp! She could have honked her horn or driven slowly into the gang. She just sat there.

“I had my arms over my head to protect myself while the girl was hitting me on my head and I looked down to my left. And there was the dog, just looking up at me with his tongue hanging out, panting the way a dog does. It was like he had a smile on his face and he just wanted to play.

“The girl was yelling at me: ‘I wish you were dead!’

“The dog had a clear shot at my face. I thought ‘this dog could bite my face off.’

“Then one kid kicked the dog three times really hard until the dog bit me in the leg.

“I think the dog was just confused. He was just happy not to have all four beating on him.”

A red pick up truck appeared, driving along the shoulder. The driver got out.

Inga shows the scars from the attack in her left arm.

“A guy in his forties started yelling ‘The cops are here! The cops are here!’ He meant the cops were on their way, but that was enough to get the four kids running off along with the dog into a park.

“Then this wonderful lady drove up in a van, right at the time the kids ran away with the dog into the park,” Inga said.

“This lady (in the van) had such a look of conviction on her face. I saw that she was not going to let this happen. She was not going to let these kids get away.

“She took her van and drove it right across the park and into the woods. I didn’t see it, but she confronted the kids.

“She was not going to let them out of her sight. I was told later that this woman got out of her van. She said to the kids: ‘I won’t approach you, and don’t approach me. You’re not getting away with this.’”

Meanwhile the paramedics had arrived and were treating Inga. “I was kind of ‘shocky.’ My left arm was bleeding from the girl scratching me,” Inga said.

“I looked over, and here comes the woman (who had driven up in the van) walking towards us through the woods. She just kind of ‘appeared,’ and she was covered with blood.

Moments earlier, in the park, with the woman’s teenage daughter watching from inside the van, she, too, was attacked by the girl and the dog.

“I saw her and I said to the paramedics ‘Leave me! Go help her! I’m okay!

“That woman was my hero. That wonderful woman made the mistake of getting out of her van.

“She did the mother thing in the woods. She said ‘You kids stay right there.’ The girl jumped up and head butted her and broke her nose.

Inga: “I would do the same thing again. That group of kids could have killed somebody another time.”

“The kids all kicked and beat her and kicked the dog until he finally bit the woman’s arm bad, clear through to the bone.

“I called her later,” Inga said. “She has lots of family and support and wants to keep to herself. Her daughter was in the van and saw her mom beaten and attacked.

“I step up always,” Inga said. “I would do the same thing again. That group of kids could have killed somebody another time.”

Next: Inga speaks at the sentencing hearing and, later, corresponds with the girl.

"Snaps" now lives at the Olympic Animal Sanctuary in Forks.

Read Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Inga here.

The Seattle P-I reported Tuesday (Feb. 1st) that three men and a woman are facing charges that they kidnapped, beat and sexually assaulted a woman in an area north of Sea-Tac Airport.

The story claims that Candice Sanders, 23, Christapher White, 21, Luis Perez, 22, and Troy O’Dell, 25, held the unidentified female victim for two days at a home near the airport, where Sanders allegedly beat her.

Other times she was allegedly gang-raped by two of the male suspects in front of her their children.

The woman, who was hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center after the attack, told King County deputies that she had been assaulted, court documents show. Perez, O’Dell and White were apparently arrested later that day, as was Sanders.

A search done after the attack apparently turned up evidence of weapons, body armor and large amounts of prescription painkillers.

Read the full story here.

The King County Sheriff’s Department reports that a 22-year old Burien man was robbed at gunpoint Tuesday morning (Jan. 26th) around 1am while walking near Chelsea Park when two men approached him, brandished a gun to his chest and stole his cell phone.

According to Sgt. John Urquhart, both suspects then ran away, but were chased by the victim. When they saw this the suspects popped off a few shots at him, which generated several “shots fired” calls to 911.

The victim didn’t give up though – police say that he caught up with the two men in Chelsea Park (at SW 136th and 8th Ave SW) and starting fighting with the unarmed one. But the one with the gun pistol-whipped the victim on the back of the head. The fight ended when both fighters got tired and the two suspects “ran’ off again.

One deputy looking for the ‘shots fired” call found the victim staggering down the street with head lacerations. A K-9 unit tracked one of the suspects to the park nearby, and also found the gun that was used hidden under a garbage can along with the stolen cell phone.

The victim, a Burien man, was treated and released.

The captured suspect, a Seattle man, age 19, was taken to the hospital and stitched up before being booked in jail for investigation of Robbery.

The second suspect was not located.

The 16-year old Burien girl who was accused of using her pit bull Snaps “like a weapon” against two women in SeaTac on June 21st was sentenced to 14 months in a juvenile detention center Thursday morning (Oct. 22nd).

The suspect, who is not being named because she is underage, had trained her pit bull to attack, according to charging papers (read our June 22nd report here). She plead guilty last month to second-degree assault, third-degree assault and being a minor in possession of alcohol.

Thursday she apologized in court in front of the victims, saying she needed treatment for anger management and substance abuse.

Court documents (view/download PDF here) allege that the female suspect and a group of three White Center boys were found abusing the animal on June 21st before the two women were attacked by the dog. One, a 63-year old woman, was assaulted by the girl before being bit on the thigh and hand by the pit bull.

Another female victim, 41, was attacked by the dog while the girl assaulted her, punching her in the face and knocking her to the ground, according to King County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart. She was severely mauled on both arms and required surgery at Harborview Medical Center.

Prosecutors did not file charges against the three boys.

As we previously reported, “Snaps,” the pit bull was seized by King County Animal Care and Control, and at one point was close to being euthanized, but was released in September and is now living peacefully at the Olympic Animal Sanctuary in Forks.

Here’s a Before and After pic of “Snaps” showing his current disposition at his new home: