Here we go again with another completely preventable tragedy. A sanctuary city policy just cost Seattle bus driver Shawn Yim his life, and frankly, I’m sick of watching this same story play out over and over.
The homeless suspect in Yim’s brutal murder? Venezuelan criminal illegal immigrant Richard Sitzacβand yes, he’s been investigated for murder before. But because Seattle’s a sanctuary jurisdiction, they just said “go ahead and do your thing.”
The Fatal Bus Confrontation That Should Never Have Happened
New surveillance footage from the King County Metro bus shows exactly how this tragedy unfolded. At 2:50 AM on December 18th, Sitzac boarded near the University of Washington. Within minutes, a simple disagreement about a window and heating escalated into murder.
The confrontation started innocently enough:
- Sitzac complained about being cold and shut a bus window
- Driver Yim explained the heat was on but ventilation was needed
- Arguments erupted about whether Sitzac had paid his fare
- Yim told him to exit the bus
But here’s where it gets absolutely insane. Imagine being a bus driver and having to deal with that kind of nonsenseβwhacked out homeless people on drugs that have killed other people before. Yeah, ride Metro transit. No thanks.
The illegal immigrant pepper-sprayed Yim, kicked him to the ground, and continued the assault outside. Yim was found dead in an empty parking lot on University Way. The suspect was arrested several days later and remains in jail on $5 million bail after pleading not guilty.
Immigration Detainer Ignored by Sanctuary Policies
Who saw that one coming? No way. In Washington State, King County, and Seattleβall sanctuary districtsβfederal immigration authorities confirmed Sitzac is an illegal alien from Venezuela.
An ICE spokesman told the Ari Hoffman show that they lodged an immigration detainer against Richard Sitzac Bastites at the Regional Justice Center in Kent, Washington. But here’s the kickerβif local authorities don’t honor the detainer, ICE can’t hold him accountable for immigration violations.
Sanctuary cities, you should be ashamed of yourselves because of this kind of thing. This is totally unnecessary. This bus driver could still be alive.
But no, we’re not asking anybody with a heavy accent, “Hey, are you a citizen?” Why don’t we check citizenship papers? Because we want a bunch of criminals to come into our community and murder people. That’s literally what’s happening here.
How ICE Detainers Actually Work
An immigration detainer is simply a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to:
- Notify ICE before releasing a removable alien from custody
- Maintain custody for up to 48 hours beyond normal release time
- Allow ICE to assume custody for removal proceedings
What happens instead? They release criminals from jail without telling ICE because they want to give them a head start. Releasing criminals into the wild, into society, into where we liveβthat’s what Seattle, King County, and Washington State are all about.
Previous Murder Case Shows System Failure
Here’s where this story gets even more infuriating. Sitzac has an extensive criminal history for violent offenses. In 2023, he was arrested on a felony homicide charge for fatally stabbing his roommate.
Though prosecutors found probable cause, Seattle homicide detectives failed to file a rush charging decision, resulting in Sitzac’s release after 72 hours.
When Sitzac called 911 from Cowan Park, he told police he escaped from an apartment after stabbing his roommate. His story? The roommate tried to hit him with an ottoman and came at him with a “machete.” Yeah, we always got machetes in these stories, don’t we?
Do you normally have a knife in your pocket if you’re not living in the country? Why do you have a knife in your pocket? Well, because you run around and stab people.
The claim of self-defense may be what led police to not rush the case for a charging decision. They couldn’t come up with enough evidence that overrode his claim because his roommate was deadβjust like our bus driver is dead.
That’s two murders that should have never happened because we’ve got a guy that is a criminal illegal immigrant who came into the country illegally, and Washington State, King County, and Seattle all protect criminal illegals because they are fundamentally messed up in the head.
The Real Cost of Sanctuary City Ideology
This story won’t get much air time because it already happened. The shock of “our bus driver’s dead” is gone, unfortunately, for the Yim family. This is a horrific storyβsomebody’s dad, brother, son, community member who drives a bus.
Seattle should love bus drivers. Seattle should be falling all over to make sure that this guy’s killer is brought to justice. In reality, you know what’ll happen? They’ll probably let him go.
This is the reason Republican states are not sanctuary states. This is the reason Republican counties and cities go after criminalsβthey actually go after criminals.
Seattle? “Yeah, we love you. Come on in. Do some drugs. Become homeless. Do whatever you want. It’s all good.”
What Sanctuary City Really Means
How about you tell the bus driver’s family what sanctuary city means? What does that mean? It means that federal authorities, ICE in particular, won’t be working with local authorities to take out the murderer of your dad, son, community member, bus driver.
But go ahead, take Metro, ride the bus. There are enough news stories just in King County alone about problems on public transit.
This story is literally an indication of how failed progressive cities, counties, and states are with sanctuary city policy and sanctuary jurisdiction policy because this should have never happened.
The Pattern We Can’t Ignore
People want to say, “Well, criminal illegals cause fewer murders than the American population.” They shouldn’t be happening at all. This particular one right here should never have happened. Lake and Riley should have never happened.
What will politicians do? “Accidents happen. Big city crime.” Yeah, this one could have been avoided. That’s the point. This one should have been avoided.
And what’s going to happen with this case? So many of these cases go in weird directions because it’s Seattle, because you’ve got judges who give 45 more chances at being a good guy. “Oh, you only killed two people so far. You’ve only murdered two. Well, we want you to get out there and try for three.”
What’s the logic? We’re just going to let him go and not involve ICE even though they’ve got a detainer. It’s absolute insanity.
What’s Your Take on Sanctuary City Policies?
This story is going to keep happening until we fundamentally change how sanctuary jurisdictions operate. The question isn’t whether we should have immigration enforcementβit’s whether we value the safety of our community members like Shawn Yim.
What do you think should happen when local law enforcement encounters someone who’s committed violent crimes and is in the country illegally? Should they be required to cooperate with federal authorities, or should sanctuary city policies take precedence?
Share this story and let people know what’s really happening in our communities. Because until we start having honest conversations about the real-world consequences of these policies, more innocent people are going to die.
And that’s completely unacceptable.
