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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Crime Seattle Police Accidently Release Domestic Violence Murder Suspect

Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Thu, May 28, 2009 at 4:12 PM

Update: Seattle Police Department spokesman Sean Whitcomb says Alvarez-Guerrero has been taken into custody in Fresno, California.

Seattle police are searching for a 40-year-old murder suspect after he was released from police custody early this morning.

Around midnight, police were called to am apartment complex in the 7400 block of Rainier Avenue S about a domestic disturbance between two roommates. Police separated the two men and arrested Valente Alvarez-Guerrero and took him to the South Precinct. Three hours later, Alvarez-Guerrero was released.

At 7am, police were again summoned to the apartment building after Alvarez-Guerrero's roommate was found stabbed to death in a building hallway.

At a media briefing this afternoon, SPD assistant chief Nick Metz said the department "has some questions as to why" Alvarez-Guerrero was released.

Domestic violence law require officers to book the aggressor. It is unclear in this case why Alvarez-Guerrero was not booked into King County Jail.

Metz says two officers and a sergeant have been put on administrative reassignment and an investigation is being conducted by the Office of Professional Accountability.

Comments (15) RSS

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So they knew each other for nine years, we're "bros" enough to move in together, but bringing chicks home pissed Valente off, so they fight, he beats the shit out of his friend in bed, he goes down to the precinct, they question him, release him, he goes home and stabs him to death. Makes perfect sense. People are fucked up.

In related news, the SPD might benefit from spending more time observing violent suspects and a little less time busting people for getting handjobs. Who knows, might save a life. Call me crazy.

Posted by Mr. Poe on May 28, 2009 at 4:25 PM

*were

Posted by Mr. Poe on May 28, 2009 at 4:25 PM

Your headline is just plain incorrect. The police did NOT release a murder suspect -- the murder didn't occur until AFTER the release.

Posted by Citizen R on May 28, 2009 at 4:28 PM

@3

He's still a suspect. We don't KNOW that he killed him. I mean we do, but, you know, we don't.

Posted by Mr. Poe on May 28, 2009 at 4:35 PM

*the. Man I'm messing things up. Okay no more Slog today.

Posted by Mr. Poe on May 28, 2009 at 4:36 PM

Is "administrative reassignment" an action or a state of being? I understand that someone can be "put on administrative leave" (which means forced to take a vacation while still being paid) but how can you put someone "on reassignment"?

Jonah, I think when SPD tells you this, it would be useful to find out to where -- if anywhere -- the officer was reassigned.

Posted by Phil M

on May 28, 2009 at 4:48 PM

@ 4

Yes, he's still a suspect, but the headline IS misleading. It suggests that he was suspected of murder at the time he was released. He wasn't. He was a potential suspected murderer at the time of release. Headlines should not just "not lie," they should also get at a complete truth.

But man that's hard to do in eight words or less. Eight words or fewer?

Eh. I give up.

Posted by Serial Monogamist

on May 28, 2009 at 4:57 PM

poe are you back on heroin?

Posted by oops did i say that on May 28, 2009 at 4:58 PM

celebrate divershitty

Posted by divershitty is so vibrant and exciting on May 28, 2009 at 7:34 PM

"It is unclear in this case why Alvarez-Guerrero was not booked into King County Jail."

Yeah, not so much. If you read the redacted copy of the report, they discuss how the suspect had recently had hand surgery, still had stitches, and had reinjured his hand. And that the King County Jail would decline to book him because of the preexisting injury.

Officers removed him, made an efort to book him, and when that failed released him. There are limits to what can be done, especially when the victim declined to cooperate.

Is it sad that dude returned and finished off his roommate? Yes. Is it a priori SPD's fault? Nope.

Hindsight is great, but it so often involves staring out of your ass after you insert your head . . .

Posted by Just Bob on May 28, 2009 at 7:41 PM

I guess they caught the guy in Fresno, that was quick. I have to commend the detective/police on this one.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/arc…

Posted by Minger the Merciless on May 28, 2009 at 7:51 PM

Wow, did he fly to Fresno? If not, that is a long drive. He didn't waste *any* time going home, killing his roommate, and then booking it to California.

@10 - Why can't the SPD book someone who has an injury? Couldn't they take him for treatment first?

Posted by JenV on May 28, 2009 at 8:10 PM

@12,

I wasn't even sure if it was possibly to drive to Fresno from Seattle that quickly, but according to Rand McNally's trip planner it's a 14-15 hour drive, and he was released at 3 am. I bet he was attempting to hightail it to Mexico after he killed his roommate.

Posted by Minger the Merciless on May 28, 2009 at 8:54 PM

@6: KUOW is reporting this morning that the officer was put on administrative leave.

Posted by Phil M

on May 29, 2009 at 7:10 AM

So officers get put on administrative leave when they release a man who subsequently murders another man, but what happens when an officer assaults a bystander and puts him in a coma? Anything?

Posted by Greg on May 29, 2009 at 9:39 AM