Man Who Allegedly Attacked Seattle Bus With Machete Escapes From ‘Home Detention’

A Seattle man with a long rap sheet escaped from “home detention” after being charged with damaging a city bus with a machete in July.

Daniel Couch, 30, was confirmed to be “missing” Oct. 10th, 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 is nowhere to be found. At least 44 warrants have been lodged against Couch since 2015 for failure to appear in court, and King County currently considers him to be “dangerous to the community,” KIRO 7 News reports.

Couch’s case reflects a broader struggle for the Emerald City’s left-wing establishment, which has failed to control a crime epidemic that’s driving businesses away and wearing down residents.

The 30-year-old was refused entry onto a Metro Route 7 bus July 2nd because he was wielding a machete; Couch then busted two side windows and cracked the front windshield, prosecutors allege in a charging document. Couch was formally charged with second degree malicious mischief and pled not guilty.

Couch entered into “electronic home detention” on July 30th so he could receive treatment at Sea Mar Turning Point Treatment Center in Seattle’s Central District; however, he violated the rules of his home detention and was booked in jail on Aug. 19th. A judge permitted Couch to again be confined at the treatment center via electronic home detention Sept. 15th; but as of Saturday, Couch was 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 informed the Daily Caller News Foundation. Couch has previously been convicted for felony mischief with a deadly weapon, 4th degree assault and theft, per the charging document.

In the post-George Floyd era, Seattle has increased use of its electronic home detention program while also proposing new programs to keep criminals out of jail. In response to concerns over violence related to sex trafficking in the city, Mayor Katie Wilson proposed the implementation of “red flag laws” to disarm sex traffickers of their weapons, as opposed to locking them up.

In King County, judges continue to send individuals charged with crimes to electronic home detention instead of jail. In 2026, an average of 445 people are confined via electronic home detention every day in King County, a nearly 51% increase from the 2022 average.