Man Charged for Allegedly Hiding Missing Girl Near Mineral
Apr. 20—A Tacoma man accused of fleeing King County with his 15-year-old daughter in January is facing felony charges after deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff's Office located the pair camping near Mineral earlier this month.
The 15-year-old had been listed as a missing and endangered juvenile in the Washington Crime Information Center (WCIC) and National Crime Information Center (NCIC) systems since the defendant, Kamel Hasim Mallette, 45, of Tacoma, allegedly assaulted the girl's mother and fled with the girl in the mother's vehicle on Jan. 10.
The girl's mother is her legal primary custodial parent per a signed parenting plan in King County, according to court documents. Mallette allegedly "has continually and repeatedly refused to return (the girl) to her mother," according to court documents.
A deputy with the Lewis County Sheriff's Office located the mother's stolen vehicle on Feb. 5 and determined Mallette and the girl "were possibly camping in the mountains in the Mineral area" but was unable to locate them, according to court documents.
On April 13, someone notified the sheriff's office that the girl had called her mother from the Mineral General Store, according to court documents. A deputy spoke with several witnesses in Mineral and was advised that Mallette and the girl had been in town earlier that day. The witnesses advised they believed the pair were camping off of U.S. Forest Service Road 74 near Mineral.
Upon investigating that location, the deputy "found two fresh sets of prints in the snow, and tracked those tracks up the logging road," according to court documents.
The deputy found Mallette at his campsite around 10:30 p.m. that evening.
When contacted by the deputy, Mallette allegedly had the girl "run into the tree line in the deep snow as he ran into the tree line in the opposite direction," according to court documents. Mallette reportedly refused to obey "clear verbal directions" from the deputy and "based upon officer safety issues," the deputy left the area.
Mallette was charged with one count each of first-degree custodial interference, domestic violence and second-degree criminal mistreatment, domestic violence on April 15. Judge James Lawler signed a $250,000 warrant for Mallette's arrest.
The Lewis County Sheriff's Office took him into custody that evening.
While Deputy Prosecutor Joe Bassetti asked Lawler during Mallette's preliminary hearing on Monday to maintain that $250,000 bail, Lawler opted to reduce the bail amount to $50,000.
"That ($250,000 amount) was in order to get Mr. Mallette into custody and he is here now, so that concern is gone," Lawler said.
However, Lawler said he agreed with Bassetti's concerns regarding community safety and Mallette's ability to follow court orders, citing those as his reasons for denying Defense Attorney Rachael Tiller's request for Mallettee to be released.
Mallette's next court appearance is an arraignment hearing scheduled for Thursday, April 21.
