Convicted teen murderer caught at a Kent McDonald’s parking lot | Update

Kent Police helped the King County Sheriff’s Office catch a 15-year-old convicted murderer at a McDonald’s parking lot on the East Hill.

The teen had escaped about 18 hours earlier from a juvenile detention center in Snoqualmie.

Timothy Hernandez-Ebanks was taken into custody without incident at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 27 at a parking lot near the McDonald’s and the Chevron in the 10700 block of Southeast 240th Street, according to an email from Kent Police Assistant Chief Jarod Kasner.

Hernandez-Ebanks escaped with four others at about 7:45 a.m. Jan. 26 from the Echo Glen Children’s Center, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office issued a press release to ask for help in finding Hernandez-Ebanks because of its concern for the safety and well-being of the public.

Kent Police also took into custody another one of the escapees at about 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27 on the East Hill, according to a police statement. Police responded to a tip and apprehended the teen.

“With some negotiating, the officers were able to take the juvenile suspect into custody without incident,” according to police.

As of the evening of Jan. 27, three of the five juveniles (ages 14-17) who escaped had been caught.

Hernandez-Ebanks was convicted in 2021 for first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from a 2020 homicide in Burien when he was 13 years old.

Kent Police assisted in the arrest after a Sheriff’s Office detective called them at about 1:27 a.m. to report Hernandez-Ebanks had been seen at the McDonald’s in the 10700 block of Southeast 240th Street, Kasner said.

“Multiple officers responded to the area within minutes of dispatch,” Kasner said. “A Kent officer spotted a male in the parking lot of McDonald’s who matched the earlier description of Timothy. The officer waited until other officers arrived on location before contacting the male in the northwest corner of the parking lot. Officers immediately recognized Timothy, once he turned and faced officers who were parked with our emergency lights on Southeast 240th Street.”

Officers stopped Hernandez-Ebanks and he was placed into custody without incident, Kasner said. He was later transported and booked into the King County Juvenile Detention facility in Seattle.

The teen is expected to have a court hearing Friday, Jan. 28 before a judge at the Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors will decide what charges to file after receiving documents from the Sheriff’s Office.

Hernandez-Ebanks was charged in 2020 and sentenced by a judge in August 2021 to 180 weeks or until his 21st birthday. Teens in juvenile court cases cannot be held beyond age 21, a law set by state lawmakers, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Juvenile Rehabilitation, which is a statewide agency separate from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, determines how long Hernandez-Ebanks will be in custody between 180 weeks and age 21.

According to court documents, Hernandez-Ebanks fatally shot Hassan Ali Hassan, a 35-year-old man, on April 21, 2020 when he was walking home from work. The two did not know each other. The teen, who earlier in the day had stolen a gun from the home where he had been staying, followed Hassan for about two blocks before he pointed the gun at the back of the man’s head from about 10 to 15 feet away and executed him in the middle of South 152nd Street.

Hernandez-Ebanks told detectives, “he just felt like doing it.” Hassan, who was listening to music on his headphones when he was shot, was just feet away from the entrance to his apartment complex.