David Hansen, the man SPD says used Craigslist personal ads to find his Central District and Capitol Hill victims, has been charged with two counts of first degree robbery.
The 25-year-old will enter a plea on the charges in early February. He is currently held on $250,000 bail.
The court documents detail Hansen’s criminal history and what prosecutors say is an increasing level of violence in the acts:
The first incident detailed in the charges involved a 20th Ave victim Hansen met in November via Craigslist. After the two had sex, the victim told police Hansen smashed him in the head with a candle holder, took his iPad and was attempting to steal his bicycle when the victim activated the fire alarm button on a security fob he was carrying, scaring Hansen off. The victim needed six stitches to close the laceration, according to police.
According to the police reports included in the court documents, Hansen was identified from fingerprints found at the scene but police were unable to locate him at a listed address and he had quit his job in Belltown. A delay over the first victim’s medical records also slowed the case, documents indicate, and the investigation stalled until the case detective contacted Hansen’s probation officer on January 22nd and found she had just spoken to another detective trying to track down Hansen.
In the second alleged robbery, Hansen is said to have met with his victim and another man at the victim’s Capitol Hill apartment on January 5th. The victim said Hansen arrived at the apartment, then pulled a pistol from his pants and announced he was going to rob the victim. The victim said Hansen told him not move or he would kill him. Hansen gathered an iPhone, the victim’s wallet, and a laptop and told the victim “not to call police or tell anyone about this because he knows where he lives and he would come back.” The victim waited two weeks before contacting police after seeing a report of a similar crime in the area. That crime, while it matches many of the elements in the other two cases, is not part of the charges against Hansen at this time. Three days after the second incident was reported, the two detectives found out about each other’s cases via the probation officer. They also, the reports note, got a new address for Hansen near 29th and Norman.
That night, police attempted to take Hansen into custody but ended up waiting for a warrant to enter an empty apartment. Hansen was long gone and, reportedly, took to Twitter to mock SPD’s effort to apprehend him:
The report notes that Hansen was in such a hurry, he left his oven on with his dinner burning inside.
The celebration didn’t last long. Four days later, Hansen was arrested outside an Aurora Ave motel.
Police say that in the days leading up to his arrest, Hansen was making plans. One of the detectives found evidence that Hansen had once again been cruising Craigslist on January 21st — the day before the failed raid. This time, however, sex wasn’t involved. Hansen, police say, was posting a want ad:
