Guest stabbed outside downtown Seattle hotel says he 'didn't expect these issues'

SEATTLE (KOMO) — Attorney Joshua Pond came to Seattle last week for a series of meetings downtown, but he got stabbed within two hours of arriving in the city.

The stabbing happened outside the downtown Courtyard Marriott hotel at 2nd Avenue and Cherry Street on May 7 as Pond and his colleague were waiting for a rideshare car to go to dinner.

"As we waited on the sidewalk outside our hotel, I got a sharp shove on the sidewalk," Pond told KOMO News from his home in the Washington D.C. area. "I turned around and saw a very disgruntled-looking man. He said at that point something to the effect of, ‘Give me your cell phone.'"

Pond said the rideshare arrived and he jumped into the car to get away from the suspect, but he got shoved by the man again.

The shoves were sharp, there was something different, so I reached back on my shirt and pulled out blood on my hands," Pond said. "That was the first time I realized I had been stabbed and the first time I knew he had a knife.

Seattle police and medical crews raced to the scene. Pond was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment while officers arrested the suspect, Job Quimpo, 42, after a standoff in a loading dock of the hotel.

Charging documents filed by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office say Quimpo told officers, "I will not go to jail!" during a standoff with the SWAT team.

Court records show Quimpo has a history of convictions that include assault, resisting arrest, burglary, criminal trespass, obstruction, carrying a concealed dangerous knife, use of drug paraphernalia, criminal solicitation, theft and malicious mischief.

Pond spent the night in the hospital and said doctors told him that the knife came dangerously close to damaging his internal organs. He stayed in Seattle for a few more days and then returned home to the East Coast late last week.

"I’ve been to Seattle over the years and I never would have expected what happened," Pond said. "I just didn't expect any of these issues. Even in the days I was there subsequently, there were people wandering the streets shouting. I very much hope we can do better to alleviate crime, homelessness and addiction."

Two days after Pond was stabbed, a man was shot and killed in the alley behind the Courtyard Marriott. Seattle police announced an arrest in that case Monday morning.

It has been just shy of a month since Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell unveiled his downtown activation plan, which has promised to address crime, homelessness and drug use in the downtown core.

"Downtown is the heart of Seattle and is powered by people — workers, neighbors, families and visitors alike," Harrell said on April 17. "Today’s actions are centered on immediate steps to make downtown safe, welcoming and a destination for activities and experiences that bring people together."

City leaders have been promising to address the rampant drug dealing, drug use and crime along 3rd Avenue in the city center since at least last summer.