Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer

by Jack Mayne

Burien’s police chief say he was a bit perplexed at recent increases in crime in the unincorporated parts of the North Highline Unincorporated area, but believes his department can easily police the area if the Burien City Council and the voters of the area eventually do approve its annexation to the city.

The annexation matter is still under consideration by the state Boundary Review Board for King County. If it approves the proposed annexation, the Burien Council must ask voters in the so-called Area Y to vote in favor of becoming part of the city.

During recent Boundary Review hearings, Chief Scott Kimerer said there were some “relatively minor increases” in crime in the northern half of the North Highline and the White Center business and residential area.

During a recent period, overall statistics for “Part One” crimes – more serious offenses such as assaults and robbery – were 54 incidents per thousand residents in Burien, while the number for North Highline was 65 incidents per thousand people.

“Not a huge difference,” he said, but in the past both areas were about 62 violent crimes per thousand.

For “Part Two,” or lesser crimes, the recent comparison was 66 per thousand for Burien, versus 69 per thousand in North Highline – “so very similar,” said the chief.

One reason the county wants North Highline to become part of a city (Burien, Seattle or Tukwila) is that counties have fewer ways to tax residents and offer higher urban services. That means there are as many as half as many deputies patrolling the area than there used to be.

That could account for the increase in crime rate, Kimerer said in a recent interview.

“Like I said at the (annexation hearing), I was a little bit surprised because in studying crime up there for the almost nine years that I have been (Burien Police chief), the crime rates have always been very similar.”

“You could say at times there might be a concentration of crime in the White Center area, however you could also say there could be a concentration of crime in the downtown Burien core,” the chief said.

Kimerer said the annexation of the southern half of North Highline was mostly residential areas, very little business. But the majority of the area still unincorporated is where business is located.

The King County Sheriff’s office has “had a budget crisis” in the past couple of years.

“The sheriff’s office has taken some serious cuts in officers and staffing – the staffing is not what it was four years ago up in White Center,” Kimerer said.

People need to remember that Kimerer and all blue uniformed members of the Burien Police are actually deputies in the King County Sheriff’s Department, contracted and paid by Burien taxpayers. While he has been chief in Burien for just under a decade, he is also a major in the Sheriff’s department.

The Burien contract has permitted Kimerer to maintain the same number of officers.

King County had to cut the White Center storefront position, at 9609 16th Ave. SW for almost a year until funds were found to restore it. Still there are about two officers per shift on duty there, down from up to four before cuts.

“I think people don’t realize the value of that storefront position in crime reduction and community involvement to help drive down the crime rates,” Kimerer said. “All the cuts bunched together showed indicators that the crime rate went up.”

Kimerer said he would keep the storefront open if Burien annexes the area and would even keep the same deputy since the Sheriff’s department manages the individual from his department who would reopen the storefront. The deputy that works the office does not answer calls, but is available in the business community and can advise store operators on ways to cut down on crime and how to control nuisances by panhandlers or those under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“It is community interaction, getting together with the businesses, talking about what their issues are, trying to find solutions, trying to build relationships up there amongst us and them and with each other to really drive down the people that are causing the problems.”

The chief also said he did not need as many officers to handle the unincorporated area that Seattle said in a study its department would need.

“Seattle said they would have to put all of those officers in there and then turned around and said they could not afford it,” Kimerer said. “Well, I could make a claim of putting a whole bunch of officers in there that I can’t afford but it is about being realistic. We all have budget concerns.”

Seattle has a “fine department” but he didn’t think policing the area would take as many officers as they had claimed – 44 added police officers – while Kimerer figured he would need only 15 additional officers.

The added officers for Burien to cover the proposed new annexed area would mean he had that many additional officers to use anywhere in Burien, as needed.

“It would become a much more robust department,” Kimerer said.

We first reported on this in July, but on Thursday the King County Sheriff’s detectives put a plea out again for the public’s help in finding Ben Munoz, 32 (pictured above), who’s been missing from the Top Hat area since April 29th.

Investigating detectives believe the disappearance of Munoz is suspicious, and foul play is a definite possibility.

“There does not appear to be any other reason why he may be missing,” police said.

Benjamin R, Munoz lived with his father in the 11000 block of 1st Ave SW, in the Top Hat neighborhood of unincorporated King County (map below).

On April 29th, his father heard Ben come home about 2 a.m. and go to bed. He saw Ben briefly the next morning before leaving for the day. No one has seen or heard from Ben since. He was unemployed.

Ben is 5’5” tall, 200 lbs with black hair, with numerous tattoos on his arms across his shoulders. He did not have a car.

If anyone knows where Ben Munoz is, or what may have happened to him, they are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or 9-1-1.

Tipsters can also call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS with information. Rewards are offered up to $1,000.

View Larger Map

The King County Sheriff’s Department announced Wednesday (Jan. 19th) that they have arrested the infamous ‘He/She’ robber who hit the Burien Walgreen’s, as well as other pharmacies in the area (read our previous coverage here).

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This robber is not to be confused with the other recent gender-bending robber, known to police as the "Mrs. Doubtfire" bandit, a Des Moines woman who focused on banks; read our coverage of her here.]

Dressed to conceal gender, the armed robber committed at least four pharmacy robberies in the past few months, dressed in clothing meant to conceal his/her gender and identity. Originally, police thought the robber was full of testosterone, but later changed their minds and started suspecting that the suspect was more of the estrogen/progesterone type.

According to police, the robber’s technique was to head to the pharmacy counter, where she asked for Oxycodone. In at least some of the robberies a pistol was waived around while the pharmacist complied.

The cops hunch on her gender was fully confirmed when the woman was arrested Monday night (Jan. 17th) about 7:50pm, when deputies responded to the Burien Walgreen’s at 14656 Ambaum Blvd SW. The woman had just hit the pharmacy again and was leaving the store when arrested.

The woman had a black air gun in her possession. She is 37 years old, 5’2” and 260 lbs. Here are some pics from the surveillance camera that will take you back down a confusing, gender-bending memory lane:

Detectives believe her first robbery was at the same Walgreen’s store on Sept. 30, 2010 at around 9:30pm. In that one she wore a gray hoodie, blond wig, and a straw hat, and brandished what appeared to be handgun.

The Burien Walgreen’s was hit again on Nov. 22nd about 12:15am. This time the suspect wore a light-colored trench coat, hood and a beanie hat, with a scarf that covered most of her face. A gun was implied.

On Dec. 16th about 2:45am, store employees believe the same suspect was at Walgreen’s (again), inside the store. For some reason the robber didn’t act and left the store before Sheriff’s deputies arrived. Not long afterwards the Walgreen’s in Renton was robbed. Renton PD and Sheriff’s detectives believe the same person was responsible for that robbery as well.

Detectives will forward their investigation to the Prosecutor’s Office shortly. They will decide how many counts of robbery to file.

The woman is currently being held on $50,000 bail.

The New Year started with a bang and a chase in the White Center/Top Hat area Sunday night (Jan. 2nd), as one car chased another car while firing several shots at the fleeing vehicle.

Police believe that no one was hit.

“Then it got interesting,” said Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff’s Department. “Sheriff’s deputies found the suspect car twice, and the chase(s) was on!!”

Urquhart says that the action all started around 10:50pm Sunday night (Jan. 2nd), when a 9-1-1 call came in about a black Acura chasing a red SUV in the White Center area at speeds up to 80mph.

The driver of the Acura was leaning out the window shooting a handgun at the SUV.

Ten minutes later a deputy found the Acura, now in the Top Hat neighborhood. A short pursuit ensued, but the suspect vehicle got away.

A few minutes later a second deputy found the car again, this time on SR-599. Another pursuit ending up on southbound I-5. The chase ended when the deputy lost sight of the car at about the Kent-Des Moines Road.

At 12:15am, a White Center woman called to report her 1997 Acura Integra stolen. Deputies believe this was the vehicle involved in the shooting and the chase. The license number is 403ZJG (Washington). The car is distinctive because it is black but with red and silver wheel rims.

So far there are no reported injures. No one is in custody. Neither the stolen vehicle nor the red SUV, possibly a Nissan 4Runner, have been found.

Anyone with information is asked to call he King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or 9-1-1.

The King County Sheriff’s Department announced Thursday (Dec. 23rd) that a skull found in an Auburn ravine on Tuesday (Dec. 21st) was positively identified as Rebecca “Becky” Marrero (pictured, left), very likely a victim of the so-called Green River Killer, Gary Ridgeway.

The remains were identified by Dr. Gary Bell, who performs forensic odontology for Medical Examiner’s Office and the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab.

Marrero was last seen on Dec. 3, 1982, when she left a motel room at S. 168th and Pacific Highway South in SeaTac. She was 20 years old at the time.

Marrero was reported missing to the Sheriff’s Office by her mother on July 20, 1984. Her disappearance was investigated by the Green River Task Force, and she was believed to be a Green River victim.

Ridgway was arrested on Nov. 30, 2001. Two years later he plead guilty to the murder of 48 women and was sentenced to 48 consecutive live terms. He was not charged in the Marrero case.

The remains of Marie Malvar were found on Sept. 28, 2003 in the same general area where Marrero was found. Malvar was last seen in 1983 at S. 216th and Pacific Highway South. Ridgway was convicted in the Malvar homicide.

Ridgway was questioned extensively in 2003 about Becky Marrero’s disappearance. However by policy, the Sheriff’s Office does not discuss what suspects say or don’t say during the investigation of open cases.

King County Sheriff’s Cold Case Squad detectives have arrested a 46 year-old man for a homicide at a SeaTac motel that occurred 27 years ago, spokesman John Urquhart announced this morning (Dec. 14).

According to Urquhart’s news release:

John Wayne Folds was arrested without incident about 10 a.m. EST Tuesday (Dec. 14) in Florida, with the assistance of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked into jail on a Washington arrest warrant for Murder in the 2nd Degree, pending extradition.

Folds has been charged in the case by the Prosecutor’s Office, and the bail on his arrest warrant is set at $1,000,000.

The case was solved as a result of recent DNA work by the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. Folds’ DNA was found at the scene of the homicide.

The homicide occurred in a motel room at the Motel 6, 18900 47th Ave South, SeaTac. The body of Frank T. Kuony, 36, was found by a maid on February 15, 1983. He had been stabbed multiple times.

An investigation by the Sheriff’s Office determined Kuony was a resident of San Francisco, and had flown to Seattle overnight to set up a display at a gift show.

Frank T. Kuony

Further investigation revealed Kuony was seen talking with several people in the back of the airplane during the flight from Seattle. After the plane landed a witness at a car rental counter saw him with a man in his 20s. The witness provided a composite drawing of the man.

Because air travel was much different in 1983, detectives were not able to trace the persons Kuony was seen with through the passenger manifest. Eventually the case became inactive.

This year, detectives from the Cold Case Squad reviewed the case and ultimately sent evidence items to the WSP Crime Lab.

In November, detectives were notified by the lab of a DNA match with John Folds. The match came from the victim’s oral swabs, as well as from several cigarette butts found in the room. Folds’ DNA was in the DNA database due to a 2002 felony arrest in Florida.

“Our thanks to the State Patrol Crime Lab for their invaluable assistance in this case”, said Sheriff Sue Rahr. “The Sheriff’s Office partnership with the Lab continues to pay dividends as we use science to solve our most important cases”, she added.

In addition, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office provided assistance with leg work to locate Folds, as well as the arrest this morning.

The Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Squad was formed about two years ago with help from a grant for the National Institute of Justice, an arm of the Justice Department. The Sheriff’s Office has over 190 cold case homicides and missing person cases that are likely homicides, dating back to 1942.

Screen grab of the new Burien CrimeReports page. Check out the functioning version at http://www.b-townblog.com/crime.

The City of Burien recently signed on with a service called CrimeReports.com, and now has a “live” Crime Map which shows reported crimes in the city, including assaults, vehicle, theft of vehicles, breaking and entering, theft, and even registered sex offenders (with pics).

The city launched the feature on its website on Friday (Dec. 10th) with this announcement:

The Burien/King County sheriffs office has begun uploading data to a new online mapping service called “Crime Reports”.

This allows users to see where crimes have been occurring as well as sort them by types of crime and date range.

Like we have on our sister site The Waterland Blog (for Des Moines), we’ve implemented this crime map right here into The B-Town Blog – check it out and be sure to click on the different crime-specific icons.

Wednesday morning (Dec. 1) just before Noon, a 23-year old man shot himself in the head near the Burien intersection of SW 146th and 4th SW, in an apparent suicide attempt.

The man was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in “extremely critical condition,” according to Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff’s Department.

Urquhart says that police followed the man from the skate park at the intersection of SW 144th and 4th SW, after having received a 911 phone tip that he was suicidal and had a gun.

At about SW 146th and 4th SW deputy cruisers boxed in his car with theirs.

“Before we could have any conversation with him he shot himself in the head,” said Urquhart.

Officers did not fire any weapons, and aside from the victim, no one else was injured.

The man’s identity has not yet been released.

A series of hoax telephone calls to the King County Sheriff’s Office 9-1-1 center about a gun “seen in the school” put both White Center’s Evergreen High School and the adjacent Cascade Middle School into lockdown mode Tuesday morning (Nov. 30th).

The schools are located at SW 116th St. and 8th Ave SW in White Center.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, the first call came in at 9:33am Tuesday morning. The caller claimed that there was an AK-47 in a locker at the school, and also stated “we need help quickly.” A total of five calls with variations on that theme came in.

The schools were placed in to lockdown and about 20 deputies and detectives arrived to block off access and search both locations. A weapon-sniffing K-9 dog was brought in to check lockers. Nothing was found.

The lockdown was lifted around 10:30am.

Detectives were able to track the cell phone to a student in the school, who was taken out of his class and arrested. His cell phone was seized. The student is 15-years old.

The boy was booked into the Youth Center on a threats charge.

The King County Sheriff’s Department announced Friday (Oct. 15th) that they are seeking additional victims of William Pritchard, 23, a “prolific” Cyberstalker who is currently in custody.

Police say that Pritchard (pictured), who has been charged with “Cyberstalking with Sexual Motivation” by the King County Prosecutor’s Office, may have had additional victims in several other counties. They want these folks to come forward.

Here’s more info from the KCSO:

In King County, the investigation of William Pritchard, age 23, led to a recommendation to the Prosecutor’s Office of 269 counts of Cyberstalking, Communicating with a Minor for Immoral Purposes, Harassment, and Extortion.

Detectives believe Pritchard cultivated a relationship with a 17 year-old girl on MySpace. Pritchard eventually began demanding nude photos of the girl via e-mail, and made explicit threats to the girl and her family if the photos were not sent.

As part of this harassment the girl received approximately 30 nude photos of Pritchard, along with sexually explicit comments.

Pritchard was able to get the girl’s home town and cell phone number from her MySpace page and left threatening messages on her voice mail and when she answered the phone. These threats went on for several months until the Sheriff’s Office became involved.

Pritchard said he would get his friends to kill her and her family; that he would kill her and carve his name into her chest; and that if she called the police he would kill her.

The calls totaled 269 from the period of late December in 2009 until the middle of March, 2010.

The suspect has already been charged with Harassment in Pierce County, and that trial is pending.

Pritchard has 2008 felony convictions for Cyberstalking. He also has arrest warrants outstanding for Cyberstalking and Harassment from Seattle and Pierce County, respectively.

Based on a review of cell phone records received pursuant to a search warrant in the case, detectives believe there may other victims living in Pierce, Thurston, Snohomish, and King counties.

If you, or anyone you know has been getting harassing or obscene phone calls from William Pritchard, you are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or your local police department.