Son faces 2nd-degree murder charge in Kent death of mother’s boyfriend

A 20-year-old Kent man faces a potential second-degree murder charge for reportedly shooting his mother’s boyfriend at their Kent home on the East Hill.

Carlos Middleton, 45, died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The son, who the Kent Reporter is not yet naming because he has yet to be formally charged, is being held on $1 million bail at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle. A judge agreed with the bail amount requested by King County prosecutors as well as probable cause for second-degree murder, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

”We anticipate police sending the documents required by law for a rush-file charging decision this week, and we’ll be on those immediately,” said Casey McNerthney, spokesman for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Officers responded at about 10:12 p.m. to 911 calls about a shooting at 14310 SE 282nd St., according to court documents. One 911 caller was the son’s mother who said her boyfriend had been shot. The other was a neighbor who reported hearing about six gunshots from the residence and a vehicle fleeing.

The mother told police that she and Middleton had been drinking alone at the residence. She said she was in bed when Middleton decided to leave the bedroom and took a set of keys. She said she followed Middleton out of the house and was able to grab the keys from his hand, according to probable cause documents.

The woman said she then ran back to the house and could hear Middleton chasing her. She said once she opened the door of the house, Middleton pushed her from behind and she fell to the floor. She said immediately afterwards her son shot Middleton multiple times and then fled the residence, where all three of them lived.

The mother never said that Middleton was armed or appeared to have been armed, according to police. She also never said that Middleton tried to attack her on the floor or had been standing over her on the floor.

She claimed not to know where her son was and would not provide information as to the vehicle he was driving or his phone number.

The son turned himself in Nov. 1 to Kent Police at the Kent Police Station. He brought an attorney with him. The attorney organized the man’s surrender with a detective. Detectives had been looking for him but had not tracked him down.

Police executed a search warrant at the home and recovered a firearm in one of the bedrooms that reportedly beloned to the son. Detectives also found the son’s social security card in the room. They found multiple fired cartridge cases in the home.