A 21-year-old Des Moines man and a 21-year-old Covington man face second-degree murder charges with a firearm enhancement in the October 2024 shooting of an 18-year-old man in Covington.
Ja-Kevion Lamonte Alexander Stancil, of Des Moines, and Samuel D. Strauss, of Covington, were charged March 12 in the fatal shooting Oct. 20, 2024 of Preston Miller. A judge set bail for each man at $500,000. They each are scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. March 26 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
As of March 13, Stancil remained in custody at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle after his March 10 booking. Strauss also was booked March 10, but was released March 11 when he posted bond, according to jail records. Bond in Washington state is typically 10% of bail, which would be $50,000 in this case.
The two men drove Oct. 20, 2024 to the Station by Vintages Apartments, 16830 SE Wax Road. Stancil reportedly was upset his girlfriend had taken his bong and wanted to retrieve it, according to charging documents. Unable to enter the apartment building because it required a keycard, Stancil and Strauss entered the parking garage when a resident exited and hid near the vehicle that Stancil’s girlfriend had been in earlier in the evening with other people.
When a woman, a friend of Stancil’s girlfriend, came to the garage and entered the vehicle, the two men reportedly grabbed her, pushed her and tried to get her keycard, according to court documents. Within a few minutes, Miller and another man entered the garage with Miller holding a firearm in his hand. The woman then ran toward the man with Miller and then she ran into the secure building.
Stancil and Strauss began walking toward Miller and the other man. Miller put his gun in his waistband of his sweat pants with his hand still on it. Miller and the other man backed up the length of the garage and Miller tried to de-escalate the situation, according to charging papers. Miller reportedly never pointed the firearm or removed it from his waistband as an argument with Stancil and Strauss continued.
Stancil reportedly grabbed Miller as he walked away, put both his arms around his neck from behind and dragged him to the ground, according to court documents. Stancil reportedly rushedat Miller and as Miller fell to the ground with Stancil and fired his gun, striking Stancil. Strauss reportedly pulled out his gun and fired eight shots at point blank range striking Miller in the face before Strauss and Stancil fled the third floor of the garage, according to court documents. Miller bled to death in the parking garage.
Stancil reportedly admitted to police they were holding the female hostage by the vehicle when Miller and another man entered the garage in defense of the woman. Miller was acting in self-defense when Strauss shot him, according to charging papers.
Covington Police officers responded to the shooting at about 3:46 a.m. Oct. 20. They found Stancil with two gunshot wounds in his chest outside the garage with Strauss and another man attempting to administer aid. Paramedics transported Stancil to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he recovered from the shots.
Strauss told a deputy that he and Stancil were at a residence in Federal Way earlier in the night and that Stancil’s girlfriend stole a bong and left with other individuals in a vehicle. Strauss said he attempted to chase the vehicle but lost it. Stancil’s phone, however, showed his girlfriend’s location at the apartment complex in Covington. They went to get Stancil’s property back. Strauss said when he saw Miller and another man in the garage, they pulled out guns on Stancil and he fired in self-defense.
Deputies found Miller on the third floor of the garage. He died at the scene. He reportedly had a gun between his legs.
A detective reviewed parking garage video that reportedly showed Miller driving a SUV into the garage and Stancil’s girlfriend exiting the vehicle carrying a bong. Another man and female exit the vehicle and all four went inside to an apartment.
The video later shows Strauss and Stancil in the parking garage near the SUV. When a female entered the vehicle, Stancil reportedly pulled her out of it, grabbed her by the neck and led her to a door leaving the garage. Miller and another man are then seen walking toward Strauss and Stancil.
A fight between Stancil and Miller leads to Miller firing two shots before Strauss pulls out a gun and shoots Miller multiple times, according to charging documents.
Stancil told detectives he texted his girlfriend that night that he couldn’t come pick her up because he had been drinking and had his company truck. He said she got mad, showed up to his house and grabbed his bong and fled the house. He told Strauss they needed to go after her.
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