Seattle man with 8 felony convictions charged in carjacking, murder of woman, animal cruelty for killing her dogs

The Seattle Police Department announced Wednesday that a 48-year-old prolific offender with a history of mental illness was arrested for the killing of an 80-year-old dog walker during a carjacking.

According to police, Ruth Dalton had several dogs in her blue Subaru Forester and was on the way to the park when she was carjacked around 10 am Tuesday near Martin Luther King Jr. Way East and East Harrison Street in Seattle’s Madison Valley neighborhood.

On Wednesday during a press conference, SPD Deputy Chief Eric Barden said there was a struggle between Seattle resident Jahmed Haynes and Dalton inside the vehicle after Haynes got into the passenger side of Dalton’s vehicle and tried pushing her out while she was in the driver's seat.

Though citizens stopped their cars and tried to assist her, Barden said that as Haynes fled, he struck Dalton, dragged her body, and hit two other nearby vehicles.

“One of the citizens came up to the car to engage with the suspect and (Haynes) produced a knife. At that point, that witness backed away, went and retrieved a large stick or a bat or some similar object, came back to try and save the woman, and at that point the vehicle backed up rapidly and crashed into two parked vehicles,” Barden said, adding that is when Dalton was struck by her car.

She was pronounced dead at the scene despite attempted life-saving measures by citizens and first responders.

At approximately 3 pm Tuesday, citizens reported that a man was hurting a dog at Brighton Playfield. A Seattle Animal Control officer who responded found a dog that had been stabbed to death in a garbage can. The dog had a collar with Dalton’s name on it and was found to be her dog, Prince. At least two dogs were in the car. The other was found about a mile away from the incident. SPD officers who were dispatched to the park found Dalton’s car.

According to Barden, investigators found a fingerprint on Dalton’s phone that was left inside Dalton’s car, which identified Haynes as a suspect. Police set up surveillance at areas where Haynes might be located and members of the Seattle SWAT team took Haynes into custody near his home at 15th Avenue and East Pine Street Wednesday morning. A bloody knife and keys to Dalton’s vehicle were in his possession at the time of his arrest.

Haynes has eight prior felony convictions dating back to 1993 including vehicular homicide, assault, robbery, and escape as well as “a history of mental health concerns."

Seattle Police detectives are expected to request charges for Murder in the 1st Degree and Animal Cruelty in the 1st Degree.