Echo Glen escape: Teens accused of assaulting staff members, locking them in 'quiet room'

The King County Prosecutor's Office has filed charges against all five teens who escaped from the Echo Glen Children's Center last month.

On Jan. 26, Washington authorities said five boys assaulted multiple staff members at Echo Glen Children's Center in Snoqualmie, stole a car and escaped from the juvenile detention center.

Charging documents obtained by FOX 13 News reveal that the boys grabbed one of the staff members and locked him in a "quiet room." The staff member was hit in his face several times while the boys took his wallet, keys and phone. One of the boys brandished a knife before the staff member was locked inside a quiet room, according to the documents.

A second staff member told police that she was attacked by the boys, hit in the forehead and locked in a "quiet room." Her keys were also taken.

One of the teens walked out of the cottage with a knife and yelled at a third staff member "get the f*** back, b****," according to prosecutors. The teen slashed the staff member with a knife leaving a 2-inch wound to her left palm before they jumped into a Ford Fusion and fled.

Prosecutors filed charges for four of the teens on Feb. 1:

  • First-degree escape
  • First-degree kidnapping
  • Unlawful imprisonment
  • Two counts of first-degree robbery
  • Theft of a motor vehicle

As of Feb. 1, four of the five escapees have been taken into custody.

The King County Prosecutor's Office has identified the teens as a 14-year-old, a 15-year-old, Timothy Hernandez-Ebanks (15), Dashawn Quabner (16), and Jonell Swan (17).

Quabner is the only teen who has not yet been captured.

Related

What is Echo Glen Children's Center?

Echo Glen Children's Center is a youth rehabilitation facility in Snoqualmie that serves Washington state's highest-risk youth.

FOX 13 does not name juvenile offenders unless they have been charged as an adult, or previously named by law enforcement because of a threat to public safety.

Swan and Quabner will be charged as adults, per state law.

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Hernandez-Ebanks could be charged as an adult because he was convicted for first-degree murder in a separate incident. When he was 13 years old, he shot and killed a man in Burien at random, saying he did it because he was depressed and "just felt like doing it," according to court documents.

Ultimately, the decision to move the Hernandez-Ebanks to adult court is up to a judge, as is the sentence should he be convicted.

"A person who is convicted in Juvenile Court is under the Court’s control only until their 21st birthday. A person convicted in adult court for conduct committed prior to their 18th birthday will not face sentencing under the adult guidelines; instead, the judge has the discretion to go below the standard range applicable to adults," the King County Prosecutor's Office explained.

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