Suspect arrested in Ballard for stealing urn containing ashes

Police have arrested a 45-year-old man who broke into a Ballard family’s RV and stole an urn containing ashes.

Shawn Telford was sleeping in his RV parked in his driveway on the night of Oct. 4 because thieves had broken in the night before, stealing his son’s toys and some personal items. Telford told My Northwest he wanted to catch them if they returned.

At 6am the next day, Telford heard a car pull up in the driveway, and a man opened the door of the camper. “The guy didn’t even look back to see if anybody was in there — he just reached in and started grabbing stuff,” Telford told My Northwest. “The first thing he grabbed was my dad’s ashes — he just grabbed that.”  Telford kept some of his father’s ashes in the RV because his dad taught him to love the outdoors, and he liked keeping him nearby for trips with his own son.

What happened next sounds like a scene straight out of a movie. Telford reportedly threw off his sleeping bag, shined his light in the man’s face, and chased him out of the RV and down the street towards an RV encampment. There was a struggle, and the suspect pulled a knife on Telford before taking off on a bike. Fortunately, the suspect dropped the box containing Telford’s father’s ashes in the process.

North Precinct officers arrived on the 800 block of NW 48th St. after receiving reports of a man screaming for help, but the suspect had fled the scene. Detectives in SPD’s Violent Crimes Section began investigating the case and identified the suspect.

According to SPD, on October 20th, patrol officers found the man working on a motorcycle outside of a home in the 4700 block of 6th Ave NW. Police arrested him for a warrant and for harassment and obstruction, and booked into the King County Jail. The man is also being investigated for additional crimes.

Photo from Google maps

48 thoughts to “Suspect arrested in Ballard for stealing urn containing ashes”

    1. I’m sure he’d just applied to community college, and was a good husband and father that just had one last relapse into criminal behavior.

    2. Look, the homeowner should not have had the urn in an unlocked van. Even if the van was broken in to earlier, he should still have had it secured so this felon would not randomly wonder in to it. As a staunch Mike O’Brien voter, my stance is the guy who got arrested should be allowed to go directly free and skip probation as well. Not his fault, it’s the homeowner!! The homeless drug addicts have no responsibility to the community, just themselves and the social justice morons who enable them.

  1. So, he had a warrant out on him? And he is being checked for additional warrants? Gosh, that sounds like police being allowed to police, and not being told to ‘stand down.’ And really, I think that’s all the citizens want – some accountability of our homeless population. However, it makes me wonder if the police were only allowed to do their job because this particular theft made it to a half-dozen news sites.
    With that being said, this article makes no mention if this guy is living in an RV caravan, but the original story about the theft implied this gentleman was homeless.
    Cue the ‘homeless-protectorate’ downvotes!

    1. The police are not enforcing tent removal, so in essence that is a de facto “stand down” – much in the same way that marijuana was a “low priority” in the many years preceding legalization.

      Funny thing about felons, they often DO have a hard time getting housed (whelp until the SCC forced owners to rent to them) because, well, they’re FELONS. So of course many of our “vulnerable community members” are undesirables who are just hanging out getting high and doing whatever they want. Add all that up, and yeah, it is more or less a “stand down” by police when you factor in response time, low staff numbers, fear of frivolous lawsuits, etc.

      Now besides the huge public safety issue, how about the absurdity of devoting resources in an attempt to “rehabilitate” people who often had their chance and blew it by committing a serious crime? The expression “throwing good money after bad” comes to mind. What sane person would opt to spend resources on sociopaths and/or addicts who are the absolute worst possible investment?

      The social justice idiots ruin people’s lives over “racist” jokes yet give a million second chances to violent felons and sex offenders. Clown world.

      1. I totally agree. Criminals chose the wrong path in life, and therefore, people feel uncomfortable hiring them, renting to them, etc. And you know what? That’s everyone’s right, because harboring beliefs is still legal – as legal as a criminal harboring a belief that he’s gonna take your stuff instead of work for it. That’s a choice. So is not offering said criminal a job after he’s committed a bunch of crimes. So they end up homeless. They shouldn’t be immune from the law at that point. That’s where the city council’s stand down policy gets ridiculous.

        1. The new Social Justice and Diversity Code states that any attempt to protect yourself or your property is now some kind of racist/patriarchal violence and that it’s only ok for Human Resource/Admissions Depts to select and hire based on arbitrary criteria, and they can also decide who can stay employed by using Twitter to destroy people with whom they disagree.

          It’s perfectly acceptable for Altleft Antifa and Social Justice people to talk about violent revolution, but actively protecting your property when police cannot or will not respond is fascism.

          1. Dissociative identity disorder. It’s real folks, as shown by this conversation above. There is treatment available, but only if you seek it out.

          2. Here’s the attention you ordered, Truth. Sorry there are at least a few SANE people in Ballard fed up with the ex-librarian mafia ruining things in City Hall. Go pet your cats.

          3. …the ex-librarian mafia…

            Yeah, watch out for those conspiring librarians. I hear they’ll stop at nothing until Seattle is covered in flower print and cats!

            Get help dude.

          4. “Yeah, watch out for those conspiring librarians. I hear they’ll stop at nothing until Seattle is covered in flower print and cats”

            No, it’s rainbow flags, junkies, tents, trash, confusing bathrooms (enjoy the extra wait cishet male “fascists”!), and human feces. Close though

    1. No, it’s only acceptable to punch “nazis” – you cannot assault violent criminals or keep a firearm to defend yourself. Didn’t you get the rules from your local Social Justice and Diversity Enforcement Officer?

  2. Hopefully the city prosecutor is willing to do his job. He is anti-enforcement and anti-policing. We need a prosecutor who is very tough on theft and drug sales.

    1. Not going to thank the one who taught you that Mike O’Brien is not who decides which cases to prosecute? Fine. Your welcome, anyway.

    2. Both city prosecutors on the ballot this year say they are in favor of ‘progressive, social approaches to justice’, so, don’t be surprised if you’re voting for the same side of the coin, regardless of whom you vote for.

      1. The law & order tough guy prosecutor couldn’t do any better than third place? Who’s to blame for that? Let me guess: never yourselves, right? Pass that buck, champ.

          1. All these downvotes…it could only mean one thing: elenchos and his/her VPN are back!!!

          2. Occam’s razor would point to the much more likely fact that blog readers think your multiple personality sockpuppeting is just moronic and pathetic.

            But you can’t accept that nobody agrees with your delusional outlook on life, can you?

          3. It’s easier on Truth/elenchos’ egos if they can pretend all the sane dissenters are one single person. Pretty funny. Hey and all your wife’s guy friends are just friends, Buddy!

          4. …sane dissenters…

            If there was ever any proof of how delusional you are, it’s right there.

          5. Don’t insult the fine beverage Yoo-Hoo by using it as a descriptor for your hoo-ha.

          6. Have you guys decided whether Trump is working for Putin, or dangerously close to starting ww3 by calling for a new arms race? Pick one. I’ll wait.

          7. Have you guys decided whether Trump is working for Putin, or dangerously close to starting ww3 by calling for a new arms race? Pick one. I’ll wait.

            A war would benefit neither Russia nor the US, and both leaders know that.

            An arms race with no war would benefit defense contractors on both sides, yuuuugely, plus Trump can pretend he cares about the military, despite his draft dodging temporary bone spurs.

            Using GOP logic, they’ll likely give the wealthy another tax cut to pay for the increased weapon spending.

            That good enough for you?

          8. Huh. I think I’ve seen this same “defense budget” con job used locally with some issue…let me think…what was it…yeah some perpetual massive crisis the leaders make worse, with no real solution requiring billion$ and no metric for success or real oversight…

            Can you help me remember what it is, Truth? Gosh, for the life of me I can’t think of it right now.

          9. *snaps fingers* Focus Mr. Sockpuppet! I know your mind is ever fantasizing about the homeless and how you want sooooo bad for Seattle to be a dystopia, but can you stay on topic for more than one comment?

            I know you think that by rapidly changing the subject, you think you never have to answer to your delusional rantings, but that doesn’t make you correct…nor sane for that matter.

            XOXO,
            Truth

  3. why the police don’t check every bum camp for criminals with warrants i’ll never know – they are already committing a crime just by trespassing, why not run them?

      1. No different than running i.d. and plates of a car stopped for traffic infraction. Trespassing is a misdemeanor.
        I love how selective liberals are about “abuses of power” and “harassment”.
        We all spend time in TSA lines just because one particular group is fond of plane hijacking, but dear lord oh no we mustn’t “harass” the precious junkie felons camping illegally. Clown world.

        Eat a steak. Sounds like u need one

        1. You sound like you enjoy your white male patriarchal privilege too much! You’re the villain in this scenario, so just be a good little oppressor and take your beating!

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