Editor’s Note, Sept. 12, 2023
Islander James Warren was acquitted — found not guilty — in a jury trial in which prosecutors sought to convict him of attempting to kill another islander. The jury acquitted Warren on Sept. 11. According to a special verdict form, those jurors found that Warren proved he had acted in self-defense. See The Beachcomber’s coverage here.
The following story was published online Feb. 14, 2023.
A 33-year-old Vashon man, James Kevin Warren, was charged with attempted murder in the first degree by the King Prosecuting Attorney on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in a stabbing that took place on the island on Thursday, Feb. 9.
Warren is currently being held in King County Jail on $650,000 bail.
Charging documents and an accompanying police report, provided by Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, detail the evidence gathered by prosecutors in their decision to charge Warren after what they called “a brutal and prolonged assault.”
The crime for which Warren is now charged took place on Thursday, Feb. 9.
A day of heavy police presence on Vashon began just before 8 a.m. on that day, when the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) received a 911 call reporting a stabbing in the 19000 block of 87th PL SW, in the Fir Ridge neighborhood of Vashon.
Deputies responded to the call, which had come from a neighbor of the victim. At the neighbor’s house, they found the 35-year-old male adult victim, who had sustained serious multiple stab wounds to the head, neck and arms.
According to the court documents and police reports provided by McNerthney, the victim had come to his neighbor’s house, bleeding profusely after being stabbed, and told the neighbor he had known the person who had attacked him. According to the neighbor’s account to KCSO, the victim had told the neighbor that the suspect had shown up at his house, and an altercation had ensued because the person owed the victim money and refused to pay.
A different account, provided by the victim to investigators later, said that he had woken up in his kitchen as he was being attacked by Warren, who he described as a “good friend” who sometimes stays overnight at his house.
Vashon Fire & Rescue also responded to the 911 call to provide aid, and the victim was airlifted via Lifeline Helicopter to Harborview Medical Center, said Fire Chief Matt Vinci.
According to court documents, the victim received a blood transfusion during his helicopter transfer to the hospital.
Throughout Feb. 9, deputies and other law enforcement personnel dispatched to Vashon searched for Warren and actively investigated the case. The victim’s residence — a single-story blue house on the 19000 block of 87th Pl. SW — was taped off a crime scene. KCSO personnel were seen entering and leaving the house throughout the day.
According to documents, a search warrant was drafted for the location, and blood, a bloody knife and a bloody hammer were found in the residence, along with a bag containing what the investigators believed to be narcotics containing fentanyl.
Warren was arrested on Vashon at around 4 p.m. that day, according to Sgt. Corbett M. Ford, spokesperson for KCSO. Police had also looked for a vehicle associated with Warren earlier in the day, but were no longer doing so at the time of his arrest, Ford said.
Employees of Euphorium Vashon, a cannabis shop in Vashon’s town center, believe they witnessed the arrest taking place on Vashon Highway at around 3:15 p.m., when multiple police vehicles converged, and officers jumped out and tackled a man who was walking near the 18000 block of Vashon Hwy. SW, just south of the shop.
The case number for this investigation is C23004623. People with information about the crime can submit it online at www.p3tips.com or via the P3Tips app.
A previous version of this article erred in saying that Warren had “banged on the door” of the victim’s home prior to the alleged crime. This phrase was not included in police accounts of Warren’s arrival at the house where the crime took place. We strive for accuracy and regret the error.
