Security officer followed stabbing suspect and helps in arrest
Seattle WA Sept 25 2019 King County prosecutors have charged a man with assault after they say he stabbed a stranger on a light-rail train “without provocation” earlier this month.
Jesus Sanchez, also known as Nery Jovany Acevedo Sanchez, was charged with second-degree assault and possession of methamphetamine in King County Superior Court on Wednesday, according to charging documents. The 25-year-old remains in King County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
On Sept. 14, Sanchez was sitting behind a man who was on his way to a University of Washington football game with his two children, ages 8 and 9.
As the train neared Pioneer Square Station, prosecutors said Sanchez grabbed the man from behind and “callously stabbed him in the back in front of his children and dozens of other passengers,” according to charges.
A nearby security officer followed Sanchez off the train and relayed information to Seattle Police, who found Sanchez on a bus and arrested him near Third Avenue and Madison Street. Police said they found a folding knife where Sanchez was sitting on the bus, as well as about 16 grams of meth in a backpack they determined was his, according to charges.
Police obtained surveillance footage they said shows Sanchez stabbing the victim and leaving the Pioneer Square Station.
The victim, who suffered a stab wound to his upper right back, was taken to UW Medical Center and released after five hours. In an interview with The Seattle Times last week, the victim said he wasn’t going to stop using light rail because of the attack. The stabbing came the day after a shooting in the Westlake light-rail station that left one man dead and two others injured.
“It was just a bad weekend,” he told The Times. “I’ve always seen a good presence, whether it’s the fare enforcement, police, or security around the platform.”
Sound Transit responded to the violent weekend by increasing security in downtown stations.
Sanchez will next appear in court Oct. 2.
