In 2011, the King County Council approved $1.4 million in grants to help law enforcement agencies battle gang-related violence, illegal trafficking and property crime with a majority of concern focused on South Seattle and South King County, where gang numbers have increased over the years.
The move to free up funds from the county’s criminal justice reserve came quickly after a gang shootout at a car show along the Kent/Tukwila boundary where 12 people were shot and, remarkably, every victim survived.
“Without additional resources soon, the gang violence in King County could spiral out of control,” the City of Kent proclaimed at the time.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (PAO) received $456,000 of that money, and according to a recent press release, used it to expand their Gang Unit and “prosecute the growing number of gang cases with a well-staffed and creative team.”
The Gang Unit is comprised of deputy prosecutors and supporting staff “with specialized knowledge of gangs and complex prosecution techniques,” according to the PAO statement looking back on accomplishments of the unit since Sept. 1, 2011.
The PAO states they have “filed 100 gang violence cases, resolved or tried 189 additional gang violence cases filed by other (deputy prosecuting attorneys), filed 21 ‘Auto Adult’ gang violence cases involving juvenile offenders,” and are currently working 400 juvenile gang violence-related cases.
“The new Gang Unit has been extraordinarily productive, and has been a full partner with local law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of serious cases of gang violence,” the PAO wrote.
Prosecutors have charged seven defendants in the Kent car show shooting, and the PAO reports Patrick Auble was found guilty by jury of one count of first degree rendering criminal assistance in the shooting. Auble’s brother, Shea, pleaded guilty to the same charge while the other cases are still awaiting trial.
There are over 100 documented gangs in King County, according to the PAO, with total membership in the thousands across all ethnicities.
“Most national gangs (Bloods, Crips, Black Gangster Disciples, Aryan Brotherhood, Nortenos, Surenos, etc.) have affiliates in King County,” the PAO wrote. “It appears that gang violence has been increasing particularly in South King County …We have made great progress, but the serious public safety threat posed by gangs in King County continues and is deserving of the sustained effort of the PAO Gang Unit.”
