Police arrest ride-share driver for sexual assaults in Seattle area

Police are investigating a ride-share driver for allegedly assaulting or raping passengers, in four different jurisdictions around Seattle.

Bellevue Police arrested Ghassan Shakir Friday, April 19, on allegations that he groped and tried to handcuff a woman after he picked her up for a ride in January.

The man was an approved driver for ride-hailing companies. But he had turned off the app, according to Carl Kleinknecht, an assistant police chief in Bellevue. He said that made it difficult to find Shakir until now.

"Because he was off app, there was no electronic data that would indicate he picked anybody up, so our detectives had a huge obstacle coming up with a suspect," Kleinknecht said.

Bellevue Police finally identified the suspect's vehicle, a red Toyota Prius, by linking surveillance footage of the car to another case involving rape.

Kleinknecht said they're asking the public to come forward if they think they were targeted by the same suspect.

Shakir, 34, has been charged by Bellevue Police with indecent liberties and unlawful imprisonment and with rape in a separate case through the King County Sheriff's Office. Kleinknecht said Shakir is also under investigation for similar incidents in Seattle and Kirkland.

The survivor in the Bellevue incident said she fell asleep during the ride and woke up to Shakir on top of her, trying to grope her and place her in handcuffs. She was able to run away.

Separately, law enforcement arrested a Tukwila man earlier in April for posing as an Uber driver and allegedly raping a passenger. The victim said she was picked up in Ballard by someone claiming to be her driver, who then sexually assaulted her before dropping her off at her doorstep.

Police are warning people who use Lyft or Uber not to take rides if the driver turns off the app, or if the vehicle and plate numbers do not match the description that appears in the app. Some drivers have offered to go "off-app" to have the passenger pay them directly at a lower price.

"When you get in that vehicle, for all intents and purposes, you're surrendering your safety to that driver," Kleinknecht said.