Sex offender arrested for allegedly ‘humping’ fridge, making threats at Trader Joe’s previously released

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) arrested a man after he “humped” a refrigerator inside of a Trader Joe’s grocery store before making threats against employees and customers with a knife.

“Here are the cold, hard facts,” SPD wrote in its crime blotter. “On a warm, August day, Seattle police officers arrested a 33-year-old man for making threats to kill with a knife following copulation with a refrigerator inside of a Trader Joe’s grocery store.”

The man was arrested shortly after 2:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Trader Joe’s located on the 1700 block of E. Madison Street. According to a security guard at the store, the man was allegedly “humping” a refrigerator when he approached him. The suspect then attempted to do the same to a customer.

As the security guard confronted him, the suspect kicked a flower display and began throwing apples. When police arrived, he started using racial slurs during his tirade while brandishing a knife at the security team, threatening to kill everyone in the store.

The suspect, a registered sex offender, was eventually arrested for felony harassment. He was booked into the King County Jail.

“The suspect’s life might get a lot harder if he is not allowed to come within 500 feet of a fridge,” SPD added in its report.

Man arrested for alleged threats at Trader Joe’s has criminal record

Court records show the man has a long history of criminal behavior in King County, including convictions for attempted rape and attempted residential burglary, as well as another more recent burglary charge that was later dismissed because of delays in mental health treatment.

In 2020, he was sentenced to serve 6.75 months in jail after pleading guilty to attempted rape in the third degree and attempted residential burglary in a 2018 case.

According to the charging documents, the man broke into a woman’s home, climbed into bed with her, and fondled her while her infant slept nearby.

As part of the sentence, he was ordered to register as a sex offender and serve 24 months of community custody (supervised probation) upon release.

In September 2021, while still on probation, the man was arrested again after allegedly breaking into an apartment at the Aegis of Queen Anne at Rodgers Park, a senior living facility.

According to police reports, he was found inside the room of a resident who had stepped outside for a cigarette.

When the woman returned, she discovered her phone, cash, and credit cards were missing. She told officers she initially thought the man was a staff member but realized something was wrong when she found her belongings scattered.

Multiple staff members confronted him as he tried to leave the building. Witnesses said he returned some of the stolen items before running away. Officers later arrested the man nearby and recovered $31 in cash that could not be definitively tied to the victim.

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Felony burglary charge dismissed

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged the man with residential burglary.

However, in early 2022, a state evaluator determined he was not competent to stand trial. A judge ordered him to undergo inpatient competency restoration on January 26, 2022.

State law requires defendants in that situation to be transferred to a state hospital for treatment within seven to 14 days. The man remained in jail without treatment for 40 days, prompting his defense attorney to file a motion to dismiss the case.

The motion cited repeated delays by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), which has struggled for years to keep up with a backlog of defendants waiting for mental health treatment.

The court granted the motion on March 7, 2022, dismissing the felony burglary charge without prejudice due to a violation of the man’s due process rights.

Contributing: KIRO 7

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