The King County Sheriff's Office said they have a suspect in custody for allegedly assaulting a 71-year-old woman at the assisted living facility she lived at.
The suspect has been identified as Louis Charles Arbee; bail has been set at $750,000.
Arbee was arrested Saturday evening by the University of Washington police department at a light rail station on the UW campus. He had been creating a disturbance at the station and police were notified. When they approached the man, they realized he was the suspect police were looking for in the assault of the elderly woman.
Authorities said the victim was assaulted while in her room at an assisted living facility in SeaTac. She suffered a number of injuries from the incident and was taken to the hospital.
Authorities believe Arbee entered the woman's room through a window on Thursday, July 20 while she was watching TV.
Once inside, the sheriff's office said the suspect hit her several times on the side of the head before wrapping his hands around her throat and sexually assaulting her.
The sheriff's office said before leaving, the suspect made demands about what she should and shouldn't do next. He also reportedly stole her cell phone and iPad.
The administrator of Falcon Ridge Assisted Living, Adrienne Kouassi, told KIRO 7 by phone that the victim had not used the four emergency pull chords located in each room. The sheriff's office said out of fear the woman waited several minutes before screaming for help.
Kouassi said at least one staff member saw the man in the general area of the victim’s room. She said it is not clear whether he was sighted before or after the crime occurred, and without knowledge of the assault, the staff member asked the man to leave.
Kouassi said they have limited placement of their surveillance cameras, because of a state law restricting their use at assisted living facilities.
The Department of Social and Health Services confirmed that assisted living facilities are restricted to using surveillance cameras mainly at the entrances and exits. In this case, the suspect entered and exited through a window that was not near those locations.
Jake Riggas, a resident at Falcon Ridge, said, “The whole place has been on lockdown ever since it happened. Everybody has to have their doors and windows locked at all times. It’s pretty scary.”
Riggas confirmed that there are emergency pull chords in each room, two of which make siren noises.
Kouassi and other residents said they had never seen an incident of this severity at the facility, although there have been recent issues with people encroaching on the property from nearby homeless encampments.
Another resident, Jeffery Needle, said he likes the facility and the staff members are doing their best.
Even so, the area presents a challenge.
“I’ve been very uncomfortable for a while, just because of all this stuff that’s been going on,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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