Highway of crime looms on Kent’s West Hill

An arson fire last November destroyed a Dollar Tree store and strip mall on Kents West Hill along Pacific Highway South. Courtesy Photo/Puget Sound Fire

An arson fire last November destroyed a Dollar Tree store and strip mall on Kents West Hill along Pacific Highway South. Courtesy Photo/Puget Sound Fire

It’s been a highway of crime along a short stretch of Pacific Highway South on Kent’s West Hill over the past year with five major incidents.

A shootout between an ATF agent and alleged gun thieves on Oct. 20 in the Lowe’s store parking lot is just the latest in a series of major crimes along a half-mile stretch between Kent Des Moines Road and South 240th Street.

Here are the other cases:

• A 65-year-old Des Moines man died Aug. 23 after his motorcycle collided with a vehicle in the 24000 block of Pacific Highway South. Jefferson Peter Grogan died from multiple blunt force injuries, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

At about 6:48 a.m., a 61-year-old Auburn man driving northbound along Pacific Highway South attempted to merge into the next northbound lane to the right just before the intersection with South 240th Street, according to Kent Police. The Auburn man’s vehicle then collided with a motorcycle traveling in that lane. The crash threw Grogan from his motorcycle and he sustained injuries that caused his death.

Police arrested the Auburn man for investigation of vehicular homicide. A preliminary investigation by officers indicated intoxication may have been a factor in the crash.

“We are waiting for lab results on evidentiary items and so our investigation is still open,” Kent Police spokesman Jarod Kasner said in an Oct. 24 email.

• Police are still trying to determine who shot and killed a 52-year-old Kent man who died on the night of March 3 in a bar parking lot. Officers responded to a CPR in progress call at about 7:34 p.m. at JJ’s Bar and Grill, 23826 Pacific Hwy S. Officers discovered the man had suffered a gunshot wound, and he died from his injuries.

“We have not made any arrests at this time as we continue to look at evidence and follow up on possible leads,” Kasner said last week.

• An arson fire destroyed a Dollar Tree store and strip mall last November in the 23400 block of Pacific Highway South. King County prosecutors dismissed a first-degree arson case in August against a Des Moines woman accused of starting the large fire. No other arrests have been made.

Crews recently started to knock down the remaining structure as the property owner plans to rebuild the strip mall. Nobody was hurt in the fire but the smoke on a Sunday afternoon could be seen for miles.

• Go another mile south down the highway near the Fred Meyer store, and that’s where Leimoi Clark, 44, of Kent, died from injuries suffered in a car crash Feb. 11.

Eric Hernandez-Navarro, 23, of Seattle, reportedly drove southbound on Pacific Highway South at about 8 p.m. at a speed of more than 60 mph in a 45 mph zone when he ran a red light and struck a vehicle making a left turn on a green light at South 252nd Street, just west of the Fred Meyer store.

He admitted to Kent Police he drove while high on heroin and that he fled the scene after the collision. King County prosecutors charged Hernandez-Navarro in April with vehicular homicide.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

t
SeaTac man, 21, fatally shot in vehicle in Kent on West Hill

Someone ran up and fired multiple shots into vehicle Nov. 21 at Veterans Drive and Military Road

Kentwood High School, 25800 164th Ave. SE, in Covington, remained without power Thursday morning, Nov. 21, according to Puget Sound Energy. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent School District
Kent schools remain closed due to windstorm damage, power outages

Second consecutive day of closures Thursday, Nov. 21 across the Kent School District

t
Kent-based Puget Sound Fire calls windstorm ‘one for the ages’

Agency responds to 308 calls in 12-hour period, including 245 for storm-related issues

Crews clear trees from State Route 18, which the Washington State Patrol closed in both directions Wednesday, Nov. 20, from Issaquah Hobart to I-90 over Tiger Mountain because of fallen trees during a windstorm. COURTESY PHOTO, Washington State Patrol
Windstorm closes Kent schools, roads due to fallen trees

Many without power in areas of Kent and beyond

t
“Prolific” vehicular theft suspect arrested in Renton

Kent man holds 13 prior convictions and 41 arrests.

tt
Green Kent volunteer program wraps up season at city park

Volunteers remove invasive species, plant native trees and shrubs at Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park

t
Copper-wire thieves damage Kent Senior Center roof refrigeration unit

Facility temporarily loses commercial kitchen refrigerator but staff, community keep meals going

t
16-year-old girl dies in Covington single-car crash

Teen was driving when car crashed into a tree Nov. 15 along SE 256th Street just east of Kent

t
Kent Police Blotter: Oct. 24-Nov. 7

Incidents include carjacking, juvenile fight, stolen vehicle pursuit

t
State Patrol catches a pair of motorcycles going over 100 mph on I-5

See a video of their arrest. Agency uses air surveillance to pursue from Federal Way to Renton

Photos by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing
Official ribbon cutting for the Kent Valley Bezos Academy, which is still accepting applications for the 2024-2025 school year.
Kent Valley Bezos Academy offers student-driven preschool experience

New school offers free enrollment to children of income-eligible families