Stranger pushes women in lake, throws toddler to ground on Washington trail, cops say
A 33-year-old man is accused of pushing two women into a Washington lake, throwing a toddler onto the trail and knocking over a jogger, police said.
The incidents began when three women were taking photos at a lookout on Marsh Island on Monday, Jan. 17, the Seattle Police Department said in a news release.
A man tried to take the woman’s phone from her hand, police said, but she refused to let go. Her friend tried to stop the stranger, who is then accused of pushing her into the lake.
She fell several feet off the pier into the cold water, police said in a probable cause statement.
Officers said they received the report around 11:25 a.m.
Then a few minutes later, the man picked up a woman’s 18-month-old daughter by her jacket and “tossed her to the side of the trail,” police said.
He shoved the mother into the lake when she tried to reach her child and said “you need to go in the water,” police said in the statement.
Around 1 p.m., police said the man approached a female jogger and tripped her on the pavement. A witness approached the suspect, who then punched him in the head and face, police said.
Police said they tracked down the man, who was running away, and arrested him. Chaz Butler was booked him into the King County Jail.
He is charged with second-degree armed robbery, second-degree attempted kidnapping and two counts of second-degree assault, prosecutors said.
Butler’s bail was set at $150,000. His arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 3.
He was previously convicted on two counts of assault after attacking a picnicking family in August 2020, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said.
He was incarcerated for one year and released on Dec. 3.
Marsh Island is in northeast Seattle.
This story was originally published January 19, 2022 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Stranger pushes women in lake, throws toddler to ground on Washington trail, cops say."
