A Seattle man with a lengthy criminal record has escaped from “home detention” after being charged with damaging a city bus with a machete in July.
Daniel Couch, 30, was confirmed “missing” on Oct. 10, according to King County’s Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention. After being discharged from a treatment facility, Couch wandered away from his court-ordered, non-jail location, and his whereabouts remain unknown.
At least 44 warrants have been issued for Couch since 2015 for failing to appear in court, and King County currently considers him “dangerous to the community.”
Couch’s case highlights a broader struggle for Seattle’s left-wing establishment, which has failed to rein in a crime epidemic that is driving businesses out of the Emerald City and wearing down residents.
According to prosecutors, Couch was refused entry onto a Metro Route 7 bus on July 2 because he was carrying a machete. He then allegedly smashed two side windows and cracked the bus’s front windshield, the charging document states.
Couch was formally charged with second-degree malicious mischief and pleaded not guilty.
On July 30, Couch was placed on “electronic home detention” so he could receive treatment at the Sea Mar Turning Point Treatment Center in Seattle’s Central District. However, he violated the terms of his home detention and was booked into jail on Aug. 19.
On Sept. 15, a judge again allowed Couch to be confined at the treatment center through electronic home detention. But as of Saturday, Couch had been discharged and is now missing, according to King County’s Corrections Division.
“The device Mr. Couch was wearing indicated that he left the authorized location where he was required to stay, and he did not contact a caseworker who attempted to follow up with him. The court will determine next steps, which may include issuing a warrant for his arrest,” the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Couch’s record already includes prior convictions for felony mischief with a deadly weapon, fourth-degree assault and theft, according to the charging document.
His case comes as Seattle has expanded its use of electronic home detention in the post-George Floyd era, while also floating new programs designed to keep criminals out of jail.
In response to concerns about violence tied to sex trafficking in the city, Mayor Katie Wilson proposed implementing “red flag laws” to take weapons away from sex traffickers rather than locking them up.
Across King County, judges continue to send people charged with crimes to electronic home detention instead of jail.
In 2026, an average of 445 people are confined through electronic home detention every day in King County. That marks an increase of nearly 51% from the 2022 average.
For now, Couch remains on the loose, and the court will decide what steps to take next, including whether to issue a warrant for his arrest.
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