BREAKING: Federal Way police say perpetrators of May, April murders have been arrested for unrelated crimes
Published 2:52 pm Friday, September 30, 2016
Federal Way police announced Friday they’ve arrested suspects they believe are responsible for the city’s April and May murders.
“We have not released much information – we will continue that practice for a while,” Federal Way Chief of Police Andy Hwang said in a statement. “Nevertheless, I want the people of our community to know those whom we believe are responsible for the previous murders were subsequently arrested for unrelated crimes.”
Jeffrey G. McLaren, 19, was murdered April 3. Alex J. Kelley, 26, was killed the morning of May 9, Frank Cohens Jr., 27, was killed later that evening, and Adam Gutierrez, 30, was killed the next night on May 10.
Hwang said police will release further details when the “investigations are developed to the point of viable prosecution.”
“We are working closely with King County Prosecutor’s Office and look forward to the completion of ongoing investigations, the filing of charges, and bringing those responsible for violent crimes to justice,” he said. “We have mobilized our resources and are focused on the current ongoing investigations.”
The Federal Way Police Department has implemented an operations plan that uses “directed patrol” and other resources to pursue active leads on the recent crimes. Deputy Chief Kyle Sumpter is leading the plan, which utilizes an incident command system.
Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell announce in the same statement that, in addition to filling the currently authorized 131 commissioned police officers, he will propose the funding of nine additional officers for the 2017-2018 budget, an ongoing process. Such a move would bring the total officer count to 140 for a city with approximately 93,000 residents. The associated staff and equipment for the additional officers is also planned for inclusion in the budget proposal.
“I have served most of my adult life as a prosecutor and dedicated 19 years to keeping our communities safe,” Ferrell said in the statement. “As your mayor, my No. 1 priority is ensuring the safety of our residents. Like much of our region, our city has seen an increase in violent drug related crime in the last six months. I wan to make one point perfectly clear: This is unacceptable.”
Ferrell said the city will not rest until those responsible for the crimes are “prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” After the May murders, the City Council approved a Violence Prevention Coalition, which began meeting in August.
Ferrell said the city “will not spare a single resource in the pursuit of justice.”
“With my direction and support, and through the leadership of Chief Hwang, we will continue to enhance directed patrols in the most affected areas of our city,” Ferrell added. “This practice has been successfully implemented before and we will now deploy those additional resources on the west side of town.”
With the proposal of additional police officers, staff and resources, Ferrell said he looks forward to the City Council’s support in this effort as well as working with them to find ways to fund the “investment in the safety and security of our community.”
