Editor's note: An earlier version of this story, referencing court documents, gave the incorrect date of Crouch's last crime. His last theft case was February 2018.
A Queen Anne store was robbed at knife-point -- in broad daylight -- by a homeless man identified Monday as one of Seattle's most prolific offenders.
Repeat felon Jeremiah Crouch was charged on Feb. 21 with robbing the Queen Anne 7-Eleven at knifepoint on Feb. 18, court documents show.
Police said Crouch was angry after he couldn't buy cigarettes with food stamps and returned with the knife. Investigator said he stole cigarettes and food -- on video surveillance.
Crouch was found at Third Avenue and Pike Street, and told an arresting officer he was only selling cigarettes. The officer who arrested Crouch saw the video surveillance, and he also was identified by the 7-Eleven clerk who was robbed.
Police said they found 32 sealed packs of cigarettes: 26 Newports and six American Spirits.
Court documents list more than two dozen theft convictions since 2001 among a long list of other convictions.
Crouch has been booked 71 times since the year 2000 and had at least 130 warrants for failing to appear.
On Monday, Seattle business owners highlighted failures of the criminal justice system in Seattle, showing how repeat offenders cycle through “with little accountability and no apparent impact on their behavior.”
Crouch was one of the 100 prolific offenders listed in a document accompanying the report.
[ Read about that report here. ]
The prolific offender report highlighted several points, including how prolific offenders with severe mental health conditions pose a serious threat to public safety, how they often fail to comply with court-ordered conditions, and how case filing delays hamper Seattle’s retail theft program.
"This report confirms what we already know - nearly all prolific offenders commit crimes rooted in mental health and/or chemical dependency issues," City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a statement. "There’s little question that without direct intervention and enhanced investment in mental health, chemical dependency treatment, and housing options, this population is extremely likely to reoffend upon completion of their respective sentences. Few would argue the traditional criminal justice system is the best way to remedy these underlying issues, which is why we’re invested in the King County-led Familiar Faces Initiative and Vital pilot program, created to address the behavior of the region’s most frequent offenders.
"These business improvement organizations raise legitimate concerns - to have a person harm their business or employees, serve their sentence, then return to commit that same crime again is as dispiriting as it is alarming. This report makes no recommendations, but whatever the next step, this is a conversation that must include our King County government partners as well, in that they lead the region’s coordination and investment in mental health and addiction treatment."
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