WASHINGTON STATE — In tonight’s Operation Crime and Justice report, KOMO News is digging into why a repeat offender with a history of violent crimes was offered a plea deal.
Attorneys involved in the suspect’s most recent cases tell KOMO News the charges were reduced in a plea deal, in part related to the suspect’s mental health issues he was exhibiting during these crimes.
Abdinjib Ibraham has spent most of the last decade locked up or at Western State Hospital.
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In 2016, Ibraham was serving 10 years for robbery with a deadly weapon when authorities say he nearly beat a corrections officer to death.
I just feel like I lost so much, I just don’t remember,” Terry Breedlove, the corrections officer attacked, told KOMO News in 2023. “I just want to keep him off the streets now, that’s my focus, I just want him off the streets and not hurt anybody anymore.
That attempted murder case was ultimately dropped because of Ibraham’s mental health issues, and he was released in 2023 without a support plan or a place to live, according to his attorney.
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It wasn’t long before Ibraham was back in cuffs. Authorities say just weeks after his release, he’s on video pistol-whipping a man during a carjacking in Seattle and pointing a gun at an elderly woman while robbing her of her purse.
A few days after that, he was shot by officers while reportedly acting erratically and walking in traffic in Burien. Witnesses reported he appeared to be experiencing a mental health episode.
Ibraham has a documented history of mental health issues. He’s been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and past evaluations have stated he “is at an elevated risk for reoffending and violent behavior.”
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He spent the last two years in jail and was evaluated at Western State Hospital. Ultimately offered a plea deal in his latest crimes and pleaded guilty to lesser charges of attempted robbery and felony harassment.
“Taking into account mental health may have played a factor in these cases, Mr. Ibraham was displaying symptoms in the King County jail after booking,” Erick Spencer, Ibraham’s defense attorney, noted in court during a sentencing hearing Friday.
“I have quite a lot of insight into his psychiatric disability and the fact that when he’s not medicated, he has significant deterioration,” Judge Josephine Wiggs said.
Judge Wiggs sentenced Ibraham to about eight years in prison, taking into account his mental health history, offender score, and state sentencing guidelines.
Breedlove, the victim in the 2016 attempted murder case that was dropped, told KOMO News he just wants justice and for Ibraham to be off the streets. Breedlove also said he is hopeful that charges can be refiled against Ibraham in his case.