Rare ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’ acquittal in deadly 2023 Broadway knife attack

The scene of the 3:30 AM, July 4th, 2023 attack

In a rare outcome for the King County Superior Court, the accused assailant in a brutal early morning July 4th, 2023 knife attack that left a 45-year-old man dead on the sidewalk outside the Broadway and Pike gas station has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

The court accepted the plea as the defense and prosecutors agreed that Sana Ceesay, now 55, was not mentally competent at the time of the violent attack on a stranger and should be committed for treatment.

KOMO was first to report on the insanity plea agreement.

Fontaine Jackson, 45, suffered multiple stab wounds and died on the sidewalk in the attack over what Ceesay would later claim to police was over a stolen phone charging cord.

Both men were listed at addresses at Seattle homelessness facilities in court documents.

Video captured by the SDOT traffic camera at the intersection showed the two men running across Broadway onto the sidewalk in front of the service station. The man in pursuit can be seen making repeated stabbing motions as the chase ends with the victim down on the sidewalk and the assault continuing for 30 more seconds until witnesses run to the scene and try to drive the attacker off with a rock and pepper spray. The victim lies motionless as the man flees.

Police say witnesses described a brutal attack with Jackson running from the knife-wielding Ceesay on Broadway where he fell to the ground as the assault continued. According to witness accounts, Ceesay continued to stab the victim “5-7 times” while he was on the ground and made a “sawing motion.” One witness said the victim yelled “something to the effect of ‘why are you doing this, I don’t even know you’” during the attack.

Prosecutors said Ceesay had an extensive criminal record including a 2022 harassment conviction after he swung an axe at a case worker’s head.

While court proceedings in serious cases like homicide have frequently included orders to treat suspects in efforts to restore mental competency for trial, “not guilty by reason of insanity” acquittals are rare in King County.

The Seattle Times reported earlier this month that the county sees about five evaluations per year and that there are currently around 261 “NGRI” patients in the state — 95 on conditional release under court supervision, 80 at Western State Hospital in Lakewood, 52 at the Maple Lane Behavioral Health and Treatment Center in Centralia, and 40 at Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake.

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