Olympia man allegedly damages cars, threatens shelter employees

An Olympia man is being accused of damaging several vehicles and threatening to shoot up Rosie’s Place after he was denied service on May 8 for previous bad behavior.

Olympia police found probable cause to arrest the suspect, Isaac P. Sissel, 23, for first-degree malicious mischief and harassment with threats. Sissel has not yet been detained.

The suspect was described as a brown-haired Hispanic male wearing a gray hoodie and glasses. He was seen driving a burgundy-colored vehicle.

Rosie’s Place, a program of Community Youth Services, is Thurston County’s only shelter for homeless youth ages 12-24.

The reporting party, an employee at Rosie’s Place, told authorities that they turned away Sissel and the suspect threatened to come back and “shoot up the place.”

“I had a conversation with Isaac Sissel informing him he was out of services until 5/11 (May 11) due to reckless driving in our parking lot endangering other participants,” the employee wrote in a witness statement.

“Isaac reminded me of actions/threats he has taken towards Seattle shelters for banning him,” she added.

Another employee was driving into the shelter’s parking lot just as Sissel was driving out. The employee noticed several vehicles had smashed windows. All other staff went out to check on their cars when the phone rang.

A third employee answered the phone and heard the suspect’s voice. “Isaac said, ‘Hey bitch, you see your windshield? Yeah that was me, I’m getting a gun and going to come shoot you all,’” she wrote.

The employee said the call scared the staff and prompted them to put the facility under lockdown. All residents and employees were transferred to the basement.

Staff told police that they did not hear or see Sissel damaging the vehicles, nor did they see him display a weapon. They said, however, that they believed the suspect’s threats and his capability to carry them out.

The employees believed that Sissel could have gone back to Seattle, where he is originally from and where he had just gotten an apartment with another shelter resident who was with him during the incident.