Rantz: Prolific Seattle offender throws coffee in toddler’s face, arrested again

A prolific Seattle offender, with over 70 criminal convictions, allegedly attacked another victim, this time a toddler in a stroller. It’s the same offender Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes has fought to keep out of jail.

The latest incident happened in Downtown Seattle on July 20. Francisco Calderon, a homeless man, entered multiple businesses along the 500 block of Pine Street, causing disturbances and trying to start fights. He’s done this before.

According to witness accounts, outlined in a police report, Calderon grabbed a cup of coffee from a random passer-by and threw it in the face of a random toddler. The child’s father struck Calderon roughly six times, knocking him to the ground, when police arrived. He was arrested for assault 3 of a child.

Seattle leaders angry when repeat offender finally put in jail

The child was rushed inside the nearby GAP by his mom, where he was cleaned and treated in the store’s bathroom. The officer on-scene said the temperature of the coffee was unclear and it was “unknown if there was any biohazard component to the assault.” The child did not appear to be physically injured or burned, “but was not communicative and appeared to be staring off into space, possibly in shock.”

When questioned by police, Calderon said he “tripped, spilling the coffee” but the report indicates multiple witnesses contradict his claim. He was arrested, but spent the weekend in an area-hospital. It’s unclear why.

“Of note, we have been on hospital guard with the suspect all weekend and will book him into King County Jail as soon as he is medically cleared,” Seattle Police detective Patrick Michaud told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

This isn’t Calderon’s first run-in with law enforcement. It’s getting close to his 100th. He is a criminal who shouldn’t be on our streets, but in Seattle, we don’t punish criminals because … social justice. Seattle officials let offenders recommit crime after crime, with little regard for the victims, because of an ideological belief that criminals don’t really belong in jail.

Calderon has a lengthy criminal history, with multiple convictions of assault against random passersby. Back in January, KOMO TV’s Matt Markovich covered a recent assault in Downtown Seattle, outlining his record:

According to the judge in the case, he’s had 72 convictions, including 14 assaults. He’s been under the supervision of the Department of Corrections 14 separate times.

A criminal watch report from the State Patrol listed 44 convictions in Washington, including 14 felonies, but most of his convictions are misdemeanors. He told probation officers he was a methamphetamine and cocaine user, stole to buy drugs and he hasn’t had a steady job since the 1990s.

Holmes’ office has a history of going easy on Calderon, offering a plea deal for the last assault, despite Seattle Judge Ed McKenna asking them to reconsider. They wouldn’t.

“I’m not sure I have ever seen a more significant history of violent offenses,” McKenna said in court at the time, according to Markovich. “Everything in that criminal history tells me that he’s a violent offender and is going to re-offend.”

He was, unfortunately, right. This time the victim was a toddler. Holmes is partly to blame for this latest assault. It’s almost like Holmes is waiting for someone to die before he’ll act.

At the time, Holmes defended the plea, telling Markovich, “I think our prosecutors wisely saw this is an opportunity to see if we could get a different outcome.” Holmes would later publicly criticize McKenna over this decision.

As this is a felony-level crime, it heads to King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. Like Holmes, Satterberg is reluctant to pursue tough charges against offenders. He refused to charge a woman who intentionally assaulted a King County deputy, then lied about his decision.

More recently, his office went easy on an illegal immigrant who raped a woman in a wheelchair. After just nine months in jail, he was released to self-deport, but before he returned to Mexico, he allegedly assaulted, again, his rape victim.

A late evening email to Satterberg’s office went unanswered — and that’s understandable. When his office responds, I’ll update the story.

Update, 4 p.m.: Satterberg’s office indicated it’s no longer being treated as a felony and has been sent over to Municipal Court. A Holmes spokesperson confirmed that “the case was sent over to us today to charge as a misdemeanor. The defendant has his arraignment tomorrow morning at 10am facing an Assault charge at the King County Jail Courtroom.”

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz