A judge has set bail at $750,000 for the man arrested one day after a reported kidnapping attempt in Gatewood. We first reported on the incident shortly after an 8-year-old girl reported it near 36th/Othello on Saturday afternoon; we updated the story this morning with police reporting an arrest Sunday. Today, the 22-year-old suspect appeared in court for a bail and probable-cause hearing. The judge agreed with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office request for the $750,000 bail amount, though the suspect’s lawyer argued it was too high, given that he has no criminal history and denies the allegations. Prosecutors say a victim advocate read a statement from a parent of the child, saying in part: “It is only because of our local neighbors and our greater community watching out for one another’s children that an awful tragedy was averted.” Prosecutors say the judge also heard from the suspect’s mother, who said her son is not aggressive. The judge ultimately found probable cause for Attempted Kidnapping in the Second Degree with a deadly weapon enhancement; the suspect was reported to have been in possession of a knife.
According to the probable-cause document based on the police-report narrative, the victim was sitting by herself on a tree stump outside a residence, waiting for her 9-year-old friend, when a man tapped her on the shoulder, then “gripped her arm and attempted to pull her further down the driveway”; she screamed and her friend looked outside to see what she described to police as a man pulling her friend with one hand and holding a knife in his other. The friend told an adult, went outside, and the man fled. Police say surveillance video shows a man leaving the area “30 seconds after a scream is heard”; they say the suspect confirmed in his interview that he is the man shown in the video but “denies touching young children.” Prosecutors have until Wednesday to decide whether to file charges.