Bellevue Legal News: Seattle Divorce & Domestic Violence Lawyer

Man Returns to Face Tukwila Domestic Violence Charges After 16 Years

A man charged with a domestic violence crime sixteen years ago in Tukwila has returned to Washington one-and-a half-decades later to face the consequences.

In 1996, 56-year-old Robert Amos Garner was charged with felony harassment after his ex-wife alleged that the man had punched her in the face several times and threatened her with a box knife. When police arrived, Garner had to be subdued with pepper spray and a box cutter was found lying on the bedroom floor. He pleaded guilty to the charge. But before sentencing, which would have likely resulted in a month in jail, Garner fled the state and started a new life.

Garner recently took a bus ride up the West Coast and turned himself in to police. He now faces more serious consequences after fleeing – up to three months in jail. However, his current wife, Kathleen, told the Seattle Times that her husband simply didn’t want to run anymore. He wanted to come clean, do his time, and try to regain many of the rights he lost when he ran from his sentencing. She also added that her husband and his ex had both been heavy drinkers at the time of the incident.

Garner and his ex-wife had been involved in one other domestic violence incident. Garner also served two years in prison for grand larceny beginning in 1996.

Read More About Man Returns to Face Tukwila Domestic Violence Charges After 16 Years...

back to top