(The Center Square) – A 75-year old woman was struck and blinded in a violent attack outside the King County Courthouse earlier this month, and the suspect charged in the case had a long history of arrests, including being booked in jail eight times this year, police and court records show.
On Dec. 5, Fale Vaigalepa Pea, 42, allegedly struck 75-year old Jeannette Marken with a wooden board that had a screw protruding from one end. According to court documents, Marken suffered a broken nose, a broken cheek bone, and blindness in her right eye.
Pea has an extensive criminal history, including eight bookings in the King County Jail in 2025 alone. Court records indicate he has one misdemeanor conviction in 2024, four in 2023 and one in 2020. All were for assault.
According to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Communications Director Case McNerthney, two violent felony charges involving Pea have been referred to the office: one that led to a felony assault conviction in 2012 and the current case.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell faced criticism from social media users after a debate with Mayor-elect Katie Wilson in which he said government should consider a repeat offender’s life story, including any instances of child abuse or hunger in their lives in determining justice.
When the far-right social media account End Wokeness posted a clip of Harrell’s comments, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller wrote “This is how a society dies.”
McNerthney noted that Pea’s earlier arrests this year were referred to the Seattle City Attorney’s Office. However, the office did not initially respond to The Center Square’s inquiry on the matter.
The last felony case involving Pea that King County prosecutors pursued with sufficient evidence was 2011. In that case, King County prosecutors charged him and obtained a conviction for assault in the second degree in 2012.
In the current case, prosecutors rush-filed a charge of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon enhancement, which carries a longer potential sentence if Pea is convicted. King County Superior Court set bail at $1 million, as requested by prosecutors.
Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, who lost her reelection bid to Erika Evans in November, made reducing crime by repeat offenders a central focus of her tenure. Her office’s “High Utilizer” initiative aimed to curb repeat misdemeanor offenses by identifying individuals responsible for a disproportionate share of cases.
Prior to the initiative, individuals in the high-utilizer cohort averaged 6.3 misdemeanor referrals to the Seattle City Attorney’s Office per year. During the initiative, that number dropped to 2.7 as of 2023.
Last year, Seattle City Council and Mayor Bruce Harrell approved a pilot program aimed at creating a more consistent response to misdemeanor offenses involving repeat offenders. The program allows some detainees to be held for 24 to 48 hours at the South Correctional (SCORE) facility in Des Moines. The facility has 802 beds, including a 29-bed medical observation unit.
At Pea’s last court hearing on Dec. 11, his defense made a motion for a competency hearing. That court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 29. Pea is represented by Public Defense Attorney Kevin Robinson, who did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment. Pea is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
