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VANCOUVER - DNA recovered from inside the car parked in Vancouver where a Portland mother was found dead Nov. 1 returned as a match to a 31-year-old man arrested Friday in Kentucky, court records say.
Dariel Nunez Montero was in custody in Montgomery County, Ky., on unrelated charges. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Nunez Montero on Friday in Clark County Superior Court for first-degree murder in the slaying of Courtney Valencia Clinton, according to a Vancouver police news release.
About 4:30 a.m. Nov. 1, a man called 911 to report he’d found a dead woman and a crying baby inside a parked car in the 300 block of North Blandford Drive.
He initially thought the woman had been shot in the back of the head, and he said there was a lot of blood inside the SUV, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Superior Court.
The child was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center as a precaution. Officers said the baby did not appear to suffer any physical traumatic injuries, court records state.
Officers determined the woman, later identified as Clinton, a 31-year-old Portland resident, possibly had her neck cut by an edged weapon. Investigators said Clinton also had cuts on her hands consistent with her trying to block an edged weapon. They said it appeared the attack happened inside the car with the child inside, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Police did not find an edged weapon inside the car, court records state.
The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Clinton died from slash wounds to her neck.
Surveillance video from Clinton’s Portland apartment showed her leaving at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 29, the affidavit states.
Officers learned Clinton had sent her location to a friend at 3:38 a.m., which showed she was at the Walnut Grove Apartments, 4701 N.E. 72nd Ave., according to court records.
Investigators sent DNA swabs from the front passenger door and under Clinton’s fingernails to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for testing. The sample from the door returned as a match to Nunez Montero, police said, and his address was listed as the apartment complex from Clinton’s location pin. The affidavit states the DNA sample from under her fingernails would require a direct reference sample from the suspect.
A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured the cluster of apartments where Nunez Montero lived. At 3:31 a.m., the camera recorded a man that police say resembles Nunez Montero carrying a baby carrier and walking toward the parking lot with a woman resembling Clinton, according to court records.
Shortly after, Clinton’s debit card was used at the 7-Eleven at 8214 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive. The doorbell camera then captured Nunez Montero return to his apartment at 6:29 a.m., according to the affidavit.
“Courtney’s whereabouts directly after this time are unknown until her discovery on (Nov. 1),” the affidavit states.
Investigators said they also learned Clinton had posted to an escort website. The call records for the phone number she used in the post showed she had been texting with Nunez Montero multiple times up to the point she is seen on the doorbell footage, according to court records.
The car Clinton was found inside was registered to Enterprise car rental. When police contacted the company, a representative said Clinton was behind on payments, and they had called her about 11:30 a.m. Oct. 30. Someone, who was not Clinton, answered the phone. The person said they found the phone and was trying to find the owner. Investigators said they believe Clinton had likely been dead for more than a day when Enterprise called, the affidavit states.
BELLEVUE, Wash. — Police are looking for more information after they arrested a 43-year-old rideshare driver for allegedly groping a juvenile in February.
The Bellevue Police Department said officers were called around 4:45 a.m. on Feb. 17 to investigate a possible sexual assault along the 12100 block of SE 44th Place. The victim told law enforcement the driver convinced her to sit in the front seat of the vehicle for the ride.
According to police, the driver stopped a couple of blocks shy of her home, allegedly made sexual advances and prevented the victim from escaping the car.
The victim escaped the car and made it to her home before calling authorities, police said.
Officers arrested the driver on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment and indecent liberties.
On Monday afternoon, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office Martin Njoki was charged with the alleged crimes. He is being held in King County Jail on $150,000 bail.
The department said community members should call law enforcement if they know of other unwanted advances made by the driver while he was a rideshare service driver. The driver drove a Mitsubishi with the license plate number CBM2456. Potential victims can call 911 or the department’s non-emergency line at 425-577-5656.
EVERETT, Wash. — 23-year-old Lorenzo Smith appeared in court Monday afternoon after being accused of attacking two baristas in Everett.
Smith allegedly attempted to force himself on employees at the Lady Bug Espresso and Steamy Shots Espresso, both located along Evergreen Way.
The first attack happened at the Lady Bug Espresso around 1 p.m. Sunday. According to police, an employee reported a man tried to force his way into the stand and assault her. She managed to escape, and the suspect ran from the scene.
A second incident was recorded around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Steamy Shots Espresso. Another employee told police that a man entered the coffee stand and tried to assault her. A witness at the location told KOMO News that the suspect stepped through the window to try and get to the employee inside, but the woman ran outside screaming.
Police arrested Smith over the weekend. The arrest follows a citywide effort by Everett Police, who distributed the suspect's photo at coffee stands throughout the area, seeking any information about him.
During Monday's court proceedings, a judge found probable cause for charges of assault with sexual motivation, criminal trespassing, and burglary related to incidents that occurred on April 6 and 9.
Smith's bail has been set at $350,000.
AUBURN, Wash. — The 13-year-old boy charged with multiple crimes in connection to the shooting on the Lakeland Elementary School playground has pleaded not guilty.
The shooting happened around 2:45 p.m. on April 8 at the elementary school. Details surrounding the shooting are still limited, although King County Sheriff’s Office deputies said they were dealing with an unrelated call near the school when a student approached them saying he’d been shot.
The boy was taken into custody and booked into juvenile detention shortly after. He is facing several charges, including assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon at a school facility, and tampering with physical evidence.
The teenager was initially released and court-ordered to electronic home monitoring, with conditions including 24-hour monitoring and a requirement for safety plans from Sequoyah Middle School and Lakeland Elementary. The 13-year-old was expelled from school for the rest of the year and will participate in online schooling.
After his second appearance, the court revised its orders from having a parent monitor him for 24 hours to parents for four days and an adult sister for three days.
His next court date is set for May 23, 2025.
SEATTLE — A nightclub that was the scene of a recent double homicide has notified the city of Seattle that it is shutting down.
A week ago, the city threatened to fine the owners of Capri Bar and Restaurant $500 a day after a string of alleged violations, including serving liquor without a license.
“We do have an agreement from that owner that the lounge that it will be closing," City Attorney Ann Davison told KOMO News on Monday. "That’s a significant piece because that was the location of the double homicide.”
The March 30 homicide as at least the fifth time shots were fired there since last summer, according to a letter by Seattle police declaring the property a 'chronic nuisance'.
“We’re looking at where we can improve public safety, and we’re going to focus on places that are problematic," Davison said.
The Seattle City Council is expected to take a vote on a proposed ordinance to crack down on so-called 'after hour clubs' and hookah lounges.
In 2024, city data shows more than 35 shootings at 'after hour' clubs, accounting for 800 rounds fired.
A shooting at an after-hours club in July 2024 claimed the life of 22-year-old Francisco David Escatell.
“It was just that my brother’s death was the tip of the iceberg for me of all these things that are wrong," Escatell's sister Erika Santana told KOMO News. “I believe these places are really misleading the way they promote themselves.”
Santana has advocated for the proposed legislation to increase regulation and enforcement of after-hour clubs and lounges.
“I think they do break a lot of rules, they also promote it online," she said. “We cannot undo what has already been done, but we can prevent it by learning from past tragedies.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by Councilmember Bob Kettle and Council President Sara Nelson.
The proposal would set minimum standards for nightlife businesses that stay open past 2:00 a.m., including a security plan, surveillance cameras, and allowing city inspections.
“It is a small number of places that are problematic," Davison said. “There are locations that have up to 100 shots fired at times. From the data, we can see that it is the after-hours timeframe - post 2 a.m. and before 6 a.m. - and it’s around these ones that are problematic.”
The council is expected to vote on the after-hours legislation at Tuesday's council meeting. The council's public safety committee voted unanimously to move the legislation forward last week.
“Weekend after weekend, and particularly as we get to summer, I want to make sure we are doing things in a way to be responsive to the increase in gun violence we’ve seen over the past few years," Davison said.
Prosecutors have charged Leontai Berry with murder for the Capri Bar shooting. According to court records, Berry was on federal probation for a prior conviction stemming from gun charges.
BURIEN - Two men are facing felony charges for allegedly abducting, torturing, and shooting a Burien woman in a brutal attack that spanned multiple counties in Washington state. The King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) believes one of the suspects may have ties to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang known for violent crime and an expanding footprint in the United States.
Kevin Daniel Sanabria Ojeda, 24, and Alexander Moises Arnaez-Gutierrez, 25, are each charged with kidnapping, attempted murder, and robbery in King County Superior Court. Prosecutors allege the pair abducted the 58-year-old victim on January 21 outside her apartment in Burien as she returned home from work late in the evening.
Prosecutors say the suspects pulled the woman into a vehicle and fired a gun as she struggled. They then drove her east toward the Cascade Mountains, all while attempting to access her personal and financial information. Investigators say the suspects used a power drill on the woman’s hand.
“They used a power drill to drill into (the victim’s) hand to get access to her cell phone and bank accounts,” KCSO wrote in an arrest report, according to KOMO TV. “They then threatened her by telling her they were going to kill her, kill her family, feed her to the bears and dump her body far away.”
Woman played dead after being shot
The woman was driven to a remote stretch of Interstate 90 in Kittitas County, where prosecutors say she was shot and left for dead. Thinking the gunshot had been fatal, the attackers fled the scene.
However, the woman survived, waited for the suspects to leave, then flagged down help.
She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and later gave detectives a detailed account of the events. In her interview, she said she believed her attackers thought they had shot her in the head, prompting her to pretend to be dead. In reality, she had been struck in the shoulder.
‘Probable ties to Tren de Aragua’
KCSO investigators, with assistance from the FBI, launched an interstate investigation.
Sanabria was tracked to a motel in Illinois just days after the attack.
Law enforcement matched his appearance to surveillance footage from the Burien area, and a search of his motel room uncovered jewelry stolen from the victim. After being read his rights, Sanabria admitted to participating in the abduction and shooting, according to charging documents, though he pleaded not guilty in court.
Arnaez-Gutierrez was arrested last week during a traffic stop by Mercer Island police. He is scheduled to be arraigned on April 24.
The KCSO noted that Arnaez-Gutierrez has “probable ties to Tren de Aragua.” While a link has not been confirmed yet, prosecutors cited the case’s organized nature and disturbing level of violence as potential indicators of a larger criminal network.
Prosecutors say both suspects pose a significant threat to public safety and are jailed on $1 million bail for each.
There is a third suspect only identified as “Daniel,” that is still under investigation.
KENT - An IT manager of a Kent-based energy manufacturing company was indicted by a Seattle grand jury this week for creating a scheme to steal nearly $1 million from his employer.
Paul Welch, 43, worked for Algas-SDI remotely in Laguna Niguel, California when he tried to steal more than $950,000 from the company through various schemes. Welch worked for the company from 2011 to 2024 and, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, began stealing from the company all the way back in 2017, using the company’s Amazon business accounts to make unauthorized personal purchases.
“Between 2017 and 2023, those purchases (from Amazon) totaled at least $43,000,” Teal Luthy Miller, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, stated. “Welch primarily purchased electronics such at televisions, laptops, and more—all for personal use. In 2019, Welch began using his company credit card for personal purchases through other online retailers such as Apple, Alaska Airlines, Instacart, and BestBuy.”
Between 2019 and 2024, those unauthorized personal purchases totaled at least an additional $60,000.
Welch’s scheme grows exponentially
The U.S. Department of Justice found that Welch’s scheme accelerated in 2021 when he began making payments to himself disguised as payments to a computer services company. Using a name “very similar” to a Washington-based computer services company, Welch charged Algas-SDI company credit cards to pay the computer services company for IT equipment and services, but would deposit the money into payment processor accounts he directly controlled.
“Between 2021 and 2024, Welch used this scheme to transfer approximately $879,175 from company accounts to his own accounts,” Miller stated.
When Algas-SDI tried to verify these purchases, Welch forged documents and invoices to cover his tracks. On January 19, 2024, the company confronted Welch regarding the money being spent on this Washington-based computer services company. Welch told Algas-SDI that the vendor was a real vendor, and the company subsequently fired him.
“In all, between 2017 and January 2024, Welch secretly made at least 250 fraudulent charges for the third-party vendor he controlled,” Miller wrote. “He made at least 140 unauthorized purchases with retailers using the company credit card and at least 100 fraudulent purchases on the company’s Amazon account. While Welch profited some $950,000 from his theft, the loss to ALGAS-SDI was approximately $982,520 due to various fees on the transactions.”
Welch was indicted on six counts of wire fraud. Wire fraud can be punishable by up to 20 years in prison alongside a $250,000 fine.
Welch will be arraigned on the indictment on April 17.
LACEY - Earlier this week, a Tesla Supercharger station exploded in Lacey. Now, a new video, which can be seen here, showing a now-wanted suspect has been released by police.
In the parking lot of the shopping center where the vandalism first occurred on Tuesday morning, a couple of charging stations were still wrapped in plastic bags, but the generators have since been replaced.
A new video released by the FBI’s Seattle Field Office shows the suspect, described as a white male between 5′10″ and 6′2.″ Authorities say he also walks with a distinctive limp, “with his right leg kicking out and, at times, his right hand held behind his back.”
Additionally, the suspect was wearing a dark jacket with a hood, gray pants, and a face covering and carrying a white bag, which may have been plastic.
The suspect may have injuries consistent with being close to an explosion or intense heat, such as a concussion, burns, or shrapnel injuries.
While multiple law enforcement agencies are now involved in the investigation, Tesla drivers are still concerned for their safety.
“At the end of the day, this is somebody’s property, and vandalizing it, maybe you’re trying to send a message. But, ultimately, it’s hurting people that own the cars and may have owned the cars for a while before politics were involved,” said driver Sagar Jauheri. “I mean, it’s definitely scary and also frustrating. I think people don’t look at the overall holistic view, in terms of how these things can impact people and impact the community here.”
The FBI, ATF, and Lacey Police Department are now asking for the public’s help, asking anyone in the surrounding South Sound Center area to review any doorbell or security cam footage they have from late Monday night into early Tuesday morning.
Seattle’s FBI field office confirmed a press conference is set for this coming Tuesday, April 15, at 1 p.m., where they will provide more logistical details as they continue to ask for the public’s assistance in this case.
Anyone who may recognize this person, have video footage of the suspect, or have information related to the arson at the Tesla supercharger station is asked to contact the FBI’s Toll-Free tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. You may also contact the Lacey Police Department at (360) 459-4333, or contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.