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Capitol Hill man pleads guilty to trafficking stolen property out of 12th Ave home

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During the 2012 raid of the Darling home, police found stolen property and methamphetamine (Image: CHS)

A Capitol Hill man has pleaded guilty to trafficking a stolen bike and possessing stolen computer equipment at his 12th and Mercer home where, in a late night raid two years ago, police confiscated a trailer truck full of allegedly stolen property.

Last week, Rabindranath Darling pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking stolen property, one count of possession of stolen property, and one count of possession of methamphetamine.

UPDATE (11/3): A King County judge sentenced Darling to six months of home detention on all three counts and to pay $600 to the court. Further restitution will be determined at a later date, according to court documents

Darling statement

During the 2012 raid, police also said they discovered 18 grams of methamphetamine inside the Darling home.

As a front for his illicit business, investigators said Darling was running a home-based computer repair shop.

Earlier this year, some of the items seized in the 2012 raid began trickling back to their original owners — many living around Capitol Hill and neighboring areas — as detectives wrapped up the case and began notifying victims.

Darling faces a maximum of 21 years in prison and a $45,000 fine for all three charges, although he will likely face a much shorter jail term according to state sentencing guidelines. Three counts related to stolen property were also dismissed as part of the plea agreement, including a charge for selling this $7,000 bike that a CHS reader reported stolen in 2012.Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 11.59.26 AM

Darling initially pleaded not guilty to charges that he was running a sophisticated stolen property trafficking ring, whereby he would allegedly buy goods he knew to be stolen and sell them on eBay.

The case against Darling began to be built after an incident that led to the 12th Ave raid when a burglary victim used the “Find My iPad” app to track his stolen device to Darling’s Capitol Hill home. There, police found a garage, shed, and basement filled with a range of expensive items that an SPD officer reported “would have made any reasonable person believe the property was stolen.”

Computers, tools, and bikes with an estimated worth of “well in excess of $100,000″ were allegedly found throughout the Capitol Hill property. Police reported finding an outdoor shed filled with professional grade musical mixing equipment, scuba gear, Tiffany brand jewelry, and “a large amount of one brand of makeup.” Boxes in the basement contained Rolex watches and expensive data storage equipment. Many items would later be traced to past burglaries around Seattle, including several items purchased with a stolen credit card.

Notes found at the Darling home and documented by police offer a glimpse into how the ring was allegedly operated. One note attached to an eBay entry for computer parts shipped to the Darlings and signed by Darling’s wife said “he agree to unlock all bios/locked logic boards for $50 dollars from this point forward.” Another from November 2011 read, “Where the F(redacted) are our diamonds? I told C(redacted) that I would have a definitive answer for him or I would pay him any amount which he sees fit by Monday 11/7/2011 without fail.”

The trafficking count stems from a $7,000 Santa Cruz mountain bike frame that Darling sold on eBay in 2011. The bike was reported stolen a month earlier from a secure Capitol Hill parking garage. When detectives later interviewed Darling, he said he bought the bike off Craigslist, but could not identify who he bought it from.

The possession of stolen property count stems from over $5,000 worth of stolen computer equipment found in the Darling home at the time of the 2012 police raid. The electronics were reported stolen in 2011 from Alaska Structures, a Kirkland-based manufacturer.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to charge Darling’s wife in the case.

A sentencing date for Darling has not yet been set.

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Andy O)))
Andy O)))
9 years ago

We used to live a few blocks from here and had our house broken into with laptops and ipods stolen, always suspected it was linked to this guy. Is there any way to find out if the police have our stuff? We’ve tried asking them multiple times but they refuse to give out any information unless we have a serial number.

jseattle
Admin
9 years ago
Reply to  Andy O)))

You’re going to need serial numbers as far as I know. That’s how we got connected to the CHS laptop that turned up in the evidence!

calhoun
9 years ago

Justice prevails! (finally…it’s been 2 years since his arrest). I hope he gets at least 10 years.

c.
c.
9 years ago

He was sentenced today. He didn’t get the first-time offender waiver that the defense was hoping for, and the judge went from six months of jail time to six months of house arrest (pending ability to adhere to the various rules of house arrest), and restitution to the victims with interest. Not a lawyer, etc, but that’s the quick take on what I saw at the courthouse.

tm
tm
9 years ago
Reply to  c.

Amazing that this didn’t result in jail time, but I am guessing that all of his neighbors – may of which were his victims, as he sold and profited off of stolen goods taken from many homes in the same part of Seattle – will be more than happy to keep an eye on him, make sure he adheres to the house arrest rules.

aghast
aghast
9 years ago

Unbelievable that they get off so leniently after hurting innumerable people. House arrest!!! With an empty promise to pay back maybe two of the victims!!! Soon back to business as usual, blocking three or four parking spots and dinking with his “cars” while waiting for more goods to come in. Thanks legal system.

calhoun
9 years ago
Reply to  aghast

I agree. It’s a travesty! He should be required to immediately pay the restitution in full by selling that home, which is worth quite a bit. I’m going to do my part by keeping an eye on his vehicles and reporting to SPD when he exceeds the 72 hour maximum in one parking space, which he did frequently in the past.

ddhead
ddhead
9 years ago

Yeah, House arrest will be a terrible hardship for this sociopath. He hasn’t held a job in his life and never leaves the house anyway, except to connect to other sociopaths.

Nightmare on 12th Street
Nightmare on 12th Street
9 years ago

Can some friend or family member or law enforcer PLEASE get this guy to STOP HAMMERING AND POWER-TOOLING ALL THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. He is routinely disrupting the ENTIRE BLOCK! NO ONE CAN SLEEP. Please I am begging.

ddhead
ddhead
9 years ago

Good luck with that one. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. The only way to get anything to change is to invest some time with the police department making complaints. They will ask you to keep a journal of dates and times and the nature of the noise.

Claire
Claire
9 years ago

He’s been re-arrested, as of 12/01/14, and he is currently sitting in jail since bail was been denied. It appears that it is another trafficking charge. I’m sure he is simply thriving in jail were everyone must just adore his crazy eccentric ways… Plus he gets along so well with people in authority, since he believes himself to be superior to most other people. I’m sure that combination will serve him well behind bars. I can only pray that he spends his days and nights terrified knowing he is totally screwed.

Claire
Claire
9 years ago
Reply to  Bryan Cohen

I didn’t realize that it meant home detention. And of course he got it pushed back for his plans, the rules apply to everyone but him.

I might have to change my career to be a psychic as when I posted that on Monday I could visualize him in jail. How satisfying to look at the Jail Inmate Lookup Service and see “Seattle Correctional Facility”.

Reggie
Reggie
9 years ago

At one time I worked with his wife, I bought my first Macbook from him and referred him to a co-worker who also bought a Macbook. I wonder to this day if it was stolen, I no longer have the Macbook but I still wonder if I unknowingly helped this this jerk enrich himself at the misfortune of others.