The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged a 36-year-old Kent man with first-degree malicious mischief for allegedly cutting brake lines and puncturing car tires of at least eight people within a small section of South Seattle.
Mowlid Mohamed is scheduled to be arraigned April 1 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle. He is in custody Friday, March 19 at the South Correctional Entity (SCORE) in Des Moines, where he was booked on a state Department of Corrections warrant after his arrest.
During an interview at the SCORE jail with detectives, Mohamed admitted to the crimes, according to charging papers. He explained that he believed he was being followed and retaliated to those that were following him by committing the crimes. He claimed to have cut brake lines or slashed tires on hundreds of vehicles in Seattle and Des Moines.
According to Seattle Police, there have been 21 victims who had brake lines cut between Feb. 27 and March 3. There have been 53 cases of tires slashed between Dec. 15 and March 4. All cases are in an estimated 1.5-mile geographic zone in the Rainier Valley neighborhood.
One woman said she had been the victim three times of slashed tires or cut brake lines, with damages costing $2,247, according to Seattle Police.
Mohamed also is a suspect in 42 brake line cuts in a small radius near the 2500 block of South 240th Street in Des Moines, according to the Seattle Police report. Police agencies in Federal Way and Tukwila also reported cases of brake lines cut in neighborhoods.
Police used witness reports, video surveillance, photos by victims, police body-worn camera evidence and tools and clothing found in his vehicles to reportedly connect Mohamed to the cases.
Police arrested Mohamed March 11 in the 8300 block of South Wabash Street in Seattle when he apparently was in the area to cut more brake lines or slash tires. Officers saw him driving a 2003 Honda Odyssey, pulled him over and arrested him on the state Department of Corrections warrant.
Detectives obtained search warrants for that vehicle and another car registered to Mohamed. They found inside the vehicles clothing that matched clothing worn by Mohamed as seen in videos and photos. They also found a hose cutter, screwdriver, cutting shear and a knife.
A review of Mohamed’s criminal history by detectives showed at least 30 bench warrants for failure to appear in court. He also has numerous convictions between 2008 and 2018 for more than a dozen crimes ranging from criminal trespass to attempting to elude a police officer.
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