Southwest county gang unit

Following the Dec. 2 shooting death of King County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Cox, who was gunned down by a gang member in White Center, there have been calls for restoring a gang unit in Southwest King County.

Once of these voices is JoAn Cox, Deputy Cox's mother, who is spearheading a petition drive to urge the King County Council to provide funding for the gang unit that would operate in Burien, SeaTac and North Highline.

Last week King County Sheriff Sue Rahr announced an expanded safety emphasis in White Center by creating a gang unit that will investigate gang activities in North Highline, Burien and SeaTac.

Both cities contract with the sheriff's office for police services.

The six-person unit will consist of SWAT team members.

Rahr added that all three communities have become "hot sots" for gang activity in the past year.

Although Cox was killed in White Center, the man who shot him and who was also killed, lived in Burien.

Robber arrested after

crashing into fire station

Burien/Normandy Park firefighters were surprised when they ran out of their station April 19 to help an injured man who had just crashed his vehicle into their station.

The surprise came when the man pulled a shotgun, blurted out an expletive and took off running.

At about 9:45 p.m., a masked man brandishing a short-barreled shotgun held up the SeaTac Deli Market at 18050 Des Moines Memorial Drive.

After taking money from a frightened clerk, the robber fled in his 1998 Jeep Cherokee and headed west on South Normandy Road at a high rate of speed.

He lost control and hit several parked cars before careening into Burien/Normandy Park Fire Station 29 at 135 S. Normandy Road.

The suspect was still inside his vehicle as three firefighters rushed outside to see what happened, and assist the now-injured driver. But when he swore at them and leveled the shotgun at his would-be helpers, they retreated and one called 9-1-1.

Deputies from Burien, SeaTac and unincorporated King County quickly located the robber about two blocks away. Deputies also found the shotgun, money taken in the robbery and some of the clothes the suspect wore but discarded.

The suspect, a 21 year-old Des Moines man, was treated at Highline Medical Center for minor injuries, then booked into the King County Jail on a variety of felony charges.

The 12-gauge shotgun used in the robbery was stolen in Pierce County in 1997.

Tukwila business raided

in hunt for terror suspect

FBI agents and police in a terrorism task force entered a Tukwila business with guns drawn on April 18 and took computers and other records of Samala Travel.

FBI spokesman Fredd Gutt said the raid was part of a search for Ruben Shumpert, a barber from South Seattle who reportedly fled to Somalia last November to avoid sentencing on felony counterfeiting and firearm charges.

The owner of the Somali travel business, Adam Ashoor, later told KING 5 television news that he had cooperated with a grand jury investigation.

But the FBI spokesman said it would not have requested a search warrant if Ashoor had been compliant.

Run a red light on camera,

receive a citation in SeaTac

SeaTac police recorded 321 red light violations at the International Boulevard-South 188th Street intersection, where the city has installed an automated camera system to catch offending motorists.

Warning letters were sent to 271 of those caught running red lights on camera; 32 others were rejected and 18 were still being processed.

On April 16, the warning period expired and violators now will be issued citations.

The city expects to install red light cameras at another nine intersections in the future. For information about the red light traffic system, call SeaTac police at 206-973-4990.

Compiled by Ralph Nichols