The number of crimes in Kent during the first three months of 2025 dropped dramatically compared to the first two months of 2024 in all categories.
“It’s early and I definitely don’t want to get out ahead of anything prematurely, but these numbers are pretty positive,” Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla said to the City Council during his April 15 Public Safety Report when he noted that all crimes had dropped.
Shootings (when shots are fired) dropped 80% from 55 to 11 during the first quarter of the year, the largest decrease in any of the eight main crime categories tracked by the police department. Vehicle thefts dropped 55% from 419 to 185.
“These are compared to 2024, and 2024 for most of the categories represented five-year lows in crime trends,” Padilla said. “We are trending below that mark of last year.”
There has been just one homicide in the first three months of this year compared to three in 2024, a 66% decline.
The other first-quarter numbers in 2024 compared to 2025 included:
• Robbery: 48 to 32, down 33%
• Vehicle prowl: 202 to 149, down 26%
• Residential burglary: 56 to 37, down 34%
• Commercial burglary: 166 to 63, down 62%
• Aggravated assaults (not domestic violence): 55 to 20, down 63%
“All are trending in the right direction,” Padilla said. “It’s hard work by every unit in the department.”
Padilla named several factors for the drop in crime.
“I’ll say this as often as I can, given the staffing, given the authority by law and given the support resources you provide us, our officers will deliver results in reducing crime, so I think that’s a good sign,” Padilla said.
Kent is up t0 170 officers, fully staffed to what the city budget provides the department. The chief has said previously changes by the state Legislature to allow police pursuits reduces crime.
No arrest in homicide
There’s been no arrest in the one homicide, although Padilla said detectives have strong leads.
Elijah J. Oceguera Bestgen, 24, of Kent, was found by a passer by fatally shot Feb. 7 in a wooded area along Lake Fenwick Road South. He died of a gunshot wound of head, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Officers were dispatched to the Lake Fenwick Disc Golf Park at about 9:26 a.m. Friday, Feb. 7 regarding a deceased person found in a wooded area, according to a Kent Police news release. Multiple officers and Puget Sound Fire firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 26113 Lake Fenwick Road S. The initial evidence indicated Oceguera Bestgen died the previous night or early in the morning Feb. 7.
“We have identified a person of interest in the case,” Padilla said at the council meeting. “I feel confident saying it’s just a matter of time before we arrest a suspect.”
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