KENT, Wash. — A 14-year-old boy was arrested in Kent late last week after a suspected DUI and a multi-agency pursuit but was eventually released to a parent.
A Kent Police Department (KPD) officer first noticed a driver fail to stop at a stop sign on West Meeker Street, the department said in a social media post. The driver continued to ignore police lights and the siren, eventually losing a tire and running away toward a nearby apartment building.
One of the responding officers said there appeared to be a handgun in the teen's hand as he was running away. Eventually, the King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) helicopter radioed officers that it observed the suspect jumping fences and had seen him climb into a "top opening freezer" in a backyard.
KPD says the suspect stayed in the freezer for over 20 minutes. A K-9 team from Federal Way arrived at the scene, KPD says, and the suspect eventually opened the freezer. Police said he did not acknowledge commands and was eventually taken into custody.
He had his blood drawn for testing at a local hospital, and he was taken to the King County Juvenile Detention Center. KPD says the teen was "declined for booking" and instead was released to a parent. KPD says its detectives are investigating the suspected DUI as well as "eluding, resisting and obstructing."
Why was the suspect released from custody?
King County has specific criteria on whether youth that are arrested should be placed in detention or released to a parent. Suspects can be "screened and released," which means a judge reviews their case and determines whether they should be detained or released. The booking criteria is set in collaboration by the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Department of Public Defense (DPD) the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) and King County Superior Court, per a court spokesperson.
The Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (DRAI) is a tool that can help guide that decision. It weighs different criteria like how serious the alleged offense by the suspect was and the youth's prior criminal history. It produces a score that assigns the suspect to either release or detention. This can be overridden either up or down.
In the case of the Kent teen, it was not specified by Kent police why he was released by the detention center. Based on the King County intake criteria webpage, he either did not have a high enough DRAI to warrant detention or eluding, one of the teen's alleged crimes, is among the offenses eligible for screen and release.
It should be noted that while an officer believed they saw the teen carrying a gun while running from the police, no further mention of a gun being found with the suspect was included in Kent's release, and none of his offenses upon arrest were gun-related. The intake criteria page says any offense involving a firearm requires detention until a judge reviews their case.
