King County Prosecuting Attorney
Criminal Division
District Court Unit

CONFIDENTIAL - FOR POLICE AGENCY USE ONLY
DECLINE
TO:

Officer: Trooper Matthew Mason, #737
Police Agency: Washington State Patrol
Unit/Precinct:

Date: January 22, 2018

FM: Benjamin A. Santos
East Division
W554 King County Courthouse
516 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104-2385
(206) 477-1898
RE:

Defendant: Janette Luitgaarden

Citation #: 7Z1206811
Incident #: 17-033682

Charges: Assault In The Fourth Degree

Date of
Violation:

11/4/2017

Thank you for your investigation and thorough report on this matter. However, we are
declining this case.
In order to prove assault in the 4th degree, the State must show beyond a reasonable doubt an
intentional striking of another person that is harmful or offensive. Here, it is essentially
undisputed that the victim was in fact struck by the suspect. However, given the
circumstances, it would be difficult to prove that the striking was intentional and ultimately
unlawful given the suspect’s level of intoxication and potential claims of mistaken belief
and/or self-defense.
According to the police report, the suspect was a passenger in an Uber on southbound 405.
While extremely intoxicated and on her cellphone, the suspect suddenly began yelling that
she was being kidnapped. The suspect then attempted to open her door and exit the vehicle
while traveling at freeway speeds. The victim immediately reached back and grabbed the
suspect’s arm to prevent her from jumping out of the car. In response, the suspect struck the
victim on his back and/or arm. Luckily, the victim was able to pull the car over and call
police while keeping the suspect in the vehicle. The suspect did not strike or threaten the
victim after the car stopped and they waited for police. When police arrived, both the
suspect and victim were calm and still seated in the car. The victim provided the above
information to police. The suspect did not provide a statement but was cooperative. The
victim did not sustain any injuries aside from a small scratch on his arm.

 Subsequent to my review of the reports, defense counsel represented that the suspect has
absolutely no recollection of the event due to her level of intoxication and confirmed that he
would be raising the legal defenses referenced above. Based on the information provided by
the victim on the date of the incident, he indicated he would be arguing that due to his
client’s intoxication, she mistakenly believed she was being kidnapped and acted in selfdefense when she struck the victim.
During my review, I also contacted the victim and confirmed the information in the report.
In our conversation via language line, he indicated that the primary reason he called police
was to get the suspect help. He was more concerned about her behavior and well-being.
Given the evidentiary and legal issues outlined above, we are unlikely to overcome the
potential defenses and prove every element of Assault in the 4th degree beyond a reasonable
doubt. Therefore, we are declining to file this charge.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Ben