A 23-year-old Kent man could face charges of second-degree murder and first-degree assault after he allegedly shot two men early Sunday morning, July 20 over a dispute about a vehicle crash into a parked car near a Seattle bar in White Center.
A judge found probable cause for the arrest of the man and set bail at $2 million, according to court documents filed Monday, July 21. He remains in custody at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle, according to jail records. King County prosecutors anticipate getting additional information from the King County Sheriff’s Office for a charging decision on July 23.
Deputies responded at about 12:38 a.m. to 9808 16th Ave. SW in unincorporated King County to a report of a non-injury accident, according to probable cause documents. While on the phone with 911 dispatch, the caller reported shots had been fired and a suspect was getting in a blue sedan.
Deputies arrived and found a 52-year-old man on the ground with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and a 26-year-old man inside the Whateke Sports bar with a gunshot wound to the shoulder area and to his back, according to probable cause documents. Paramedics transported both men to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where the older man died.
James Edward Sears died of a gunshot wound to the torso, according to the July 22 report by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Witnesses reportedly said that the suspect fired shots and was inside a blue Honda Accord. Deputies confronted the suspect who told them his gun was under the seat. Deputies took him into custody without incident.
The man reportedly agreed to be interviewed by detectives at the Burien Police Department. He told them he drove to the bar and his cousin drove a Chevy Malibu, according to probable cause documents. He said his cousin fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a parked vehicle.
The man said he went to check on his cousin and another man was trying to wake up his cousin and told him to wake him up. The Kent man moved his cousin into the back seat and got into the driver’s seat.
The Kent man told detectives another man then came up to the Malibu and reportedly grabbed him by the shirt and tried to remove him from the car by throwing punches, according to probable cause documents. He said the two men told him they were going to “beat his ass” and one stated he was going to “blow him away.” The Kent man said he opened up the console of the Malibu, pulled out his handgun and exited through the passenger side door.
The man told police both men were on the driver’s side of the vehicle and began to run towards the bar and that’s when he fired multiple shots, unknowing if he struck anyone. He said he then got back into his Accord and put his gun under the driver’s seat and that was when deputies arrived.
A man working security at the bar told detectives he saw his father, James Sears, and brother trying to wake up the driver of the Malibu because it had crashed into the car of his brother, according to probable cause documents. He said he saw the Kent man walk over to the Malibu, move a man in the Malibu into the back seat and get into the driver’s seat.
The man working security said he saw his brother punch the Kent man because he was reportedly yelling at them and trying to leave the scene. The Kent man then reportedly told the men to back off or he was going to “pop” them. He then pulled out a gun and put it on his lap.
The security man said his father started taking photos by the driver’s side door and that’s when the Kent man reportedly started firing his gun, striking his father taking pictures first and then hitting his brother in the back as he ran towards the bar, according to probable cause documents.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
