Dori: Internet sleuth helps Seattle police arrest suspect in attempted rape, robbery

Three months after a Madison Valley massage and wellness spa owner was attacked by a man who tried to rape and rob her at knifepoint, it was a Fremont neighborhood colleague who helped Seattle Police arrest her suspected assailant last week.

On Monday’s Dori Monson Show, spa owner Amber Myers credited her friend and fellow massage therapist, Richard, with “absolutely scouring the Internet, kind of relentlessly” searching for images of the man authorities believe committed the mid-day attack on Myers in late August.

Using doorbell video camera images of other alleged crimes throughout Seattle, Richard used his amateur sleuthing skills and social media to point police toward the recent movements of suspect Jordan Alexander, 33.

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When one Ballard-area home video popped up on Nextdoor, showing a man resembling Alexander allegedly stealing someone’s porch furniture, Richard began tracking related social media threads and posts in nearby neighborhoods, she said.

“He was able to see where people had seen him (Alexander) and were able to point officers to all those locations,” Myers continued.

Armed with that information, Seattle Police officers arrested Alexander in the University District Dec. 1 while they were there are on unrelated response, SPD reported.

“It almost sounds miraculous,” Dori told Myers. “There are so many attempted home break-ins and so many Ring camera videos that it seems like a needle-in-a-haystack to find the guy who attacked you.”

“That’s why I’m so thankful to have the friend I have,” she responded. “He recognized that this person is a career criminal, so he’s probably still in town, probably still committing crimes. The odds are he’s going to show up on somebody’s security camera.”

At the time of the attack on Myers, Alexander had escaped from a work release program. He qualified for the release after serving 10 months of a 48-month sentence for bank robbery. After threatening Myers inside her business on Aug. 31, Alexander allegedly bolted after a colleague returned to the spa and interrupted the attack. Left behind: A package filled with knives.

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In fact, it was security camera images of Alexander that helped Myers identify him to detectives after her assault. When he entered her Madison Valley business three months ago, he was wearing an orange hardhat and appeared to be making a delivery. Other older images provided by Seattle Police show Alexander dressing as a woman in a head scarf. Records show Alexander has 22 other prior arrests – including charges of theft, robbery, harassment, assault and domestic violence.

“It’s shocking how that even happens,” Myers told Dori.

Alexander is now charged with attempted robbery with a deadly weapon and attempted rape with a deadly weapon in her case, she added.

When the case comes to trial, Dori asked, how will Myers feel about facing Alexander?

“On one hand, I’m really psyched. I like the idea of revenge,” she said. On the other hand? Myers said she feels “queasy” about having to look directly at him, adding that “it needs to happen. I would like to see him put away for good this time.”

Listen to Dori Monson weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.