A Seattle man with an extensive criminal history was arrested over the weekend for allegedly throwing a cup of coffee on a baby just two days after he was released from jail having just served served eight months for randomly attacking a stranger in the street.
Army veteran Daynard Butler was visiting Seattle for the first time with his wife – who is currently in active military duty – and their three young sons last weekend, during a stop-over on their way home from Japan to Daytona Beach, Florida.
By chance, the family crossed paths with serial felon Francisco Calderon – who has been convicted more than 70 times, 14 of which were for assault – on Saturday night, near the city’s Westlake Park on corner of 5th Avenue and Pine Street.
Calderon, released from prison just two days prior, was seen behaving ‘erratically’ moments before he approached the Butler family.
Serial felon Francisco Calderon – who has been convicted more than 70 times, 14 of which were for assault – was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly threw a cup of coffee over a baby in Seattle. He had been released from prison just two days prior after serving eight months for a randomly attacking a man in the street
Army veteran Daynard Butler had been visiting Seattle for the first time with his wife – who is currently in active military duty – and their three young sons last weekend when the assault took place. Daynard then gave chase to Calderon, tackling him to the ground and pinning him to the floor until officers arrived
‘He was being belligerent to people on the street,’ Butler recalled to KOMO News, saying that he was standing on the sidewalk with his 2-year-old son Ryan asleep in the stroller.
‘He followed a lady, and I started thinking to myself, “if he does something to this lady I’m going to have to step in because she’s by herself.”’
But suddenly it was Daynard’s son that became the target of the Calderon’s focus, as he started walking towards the family before throwing a cup of coffee in little Rylan’s face.
‘He did a crescent turn-around, was saying something, grabbed his coffee and just threw it on my son’s face,’ Daynard said. ‘To me I didn’t know if the coffee was boiling hot or anything, all I knew is he tossed it in my kids’ face and as a father I protected my kid.’
Daynard then gave chase to Calderon, tackling him to the ground and pinning him to the floor until officers arrived.
Fearing that his son may have been scared or burned by the drink, the panic-stricken father also started punching the assailant.
‘I went straight for him, I hit with rights — straight to the face. I was very mindful of the situation after a couple of blows, I knew I couldn’t kill him — you know what I mean,’ he continued to KOMO.
The family encountered Calderon near the city’s Westlake Park on corner of 5th Avenue and Pine Street
Several other people informed police they had been harassed by Calderon in the build up to the assault on Daynard’s son – two of whom helped look after Rylan while his father dealt with the suspect and spoke to police.
Calderon was arrested at the scene and charged with felony assault on a child, however the charges were reduced to a misdemeanor by a country prosecutor on Tuesday – much to the outrage of Daynard.
‘To me I don’t understand why, with 73 convictions, he was out. That’s crazy,’ Butler said. ‘But it looked like he was looking for a way to get arrested, he was looking for a way to get back to jail, that’s how it looked to me.’
Thankfully, Rylan suffered no permanent damage as a result of the alleged attack, with the coffee not believed to have been hot at the time it was thrown.
Calderon, a notorious offender, has been at the center of the city’s political debate on how to deal with repeat, violent offenders, according to Q13 FOX.
Calderon was arrested at the scene and charged with felony assault on a child, however the charges were reduced to a misdemeanor by a country prosecutor on Tuesday
He was listed in a report called ‘System Failure’, a report commissioned by the city’s business community which profiled 100 offenders and their journey through the criminal justice system.
The report stated Calderon to be responsible for ‘frequent, random assault on innocent victims around Seattle’.
In his last attack, Calderon received a yearlong jail sentence after Municipal Court Judge Ed McKenna rejected a plea deal agreed to by the prosecutor and public defender that would have sentenced Calderon to 30 days in jail and a treatment program.
After the ruling, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes and Director of Public Defense Anita Khandwlwal rallied for McKenna’s resignation, voicing perceived concern over his perceived ‘disregarding [of his] duty to act with impartiality and integrity.’
‘Our concerns are based on your repeated comments regarding the sentencing recommendations made by prosecutors, the role of defense counsel, and problems you perceive in the criminal legal system, as well as your conduct during the sentencing of Francisco Calderon,’ a letter written by the pair said.
McKenna declined the calls, responding: ‘I was elected to this position by my peers and enjoy continued support from the bench. The court, as the judicial branch of City government, is a separate branch and independently elected and should act free of outside influence. An independent, fair and impartial judiciary is imperative to preserving principles of justice and rule of law.’