West Seattle, Washington
23 Tuesday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
This afternoon at the King County Courthouse, pre-testimony proceedings in the trial of Brandon Chaney and Bryce Huber are scheduled to resume.
Huber (left) and Chaney (right), are two of the four men who were charged with gunning down 26-year-old Steve Bushaw along California north of Edmunds in The Junction on Super Bowl night in 2009. The other two, Danny O’Neal and John Sylve, already have pleaded guilty. As mentioned earlier, we were in court as proceedings began Monday afternoon.
Toplines: The case has a new prosecutor, Jeff Baird, because the one originally assigned to the case, James Konat – who won the case against South Park killer/rapist Isaiah Kalebu earlier this summer – was taken off it amid a controversy over racist remarks he made in an unrelated case in which a conviction was overturned as a result. Baird gained fame last decade for leading the Green River Killer prosecution team. His first major announcement in this case: Seeking to drop the “conspiracy to commit murder” charge against Chaney and Huber.
Chaney’s lawyer James Rowe didn’t object, so his client now is on trial for one charge – 1st-degree murder with firearm enhancement – but Huber’s lawyer Anthony Savage did object, saying the alleged conspiracy was going to figure into his defense, and dropping the charge “disarms” him of a contention he planned to pursue. Judge Joan DuBuque gave Savage until first thing this morning to cite case law to support his argument against dropping the conspiracy charge.
She also suggested the defense lawyers would want to read the trial brief that Baird had turned in – hinting that it would raise a number of issues that might take days to hash out – and when court reconvenes today, everyone will have “a better sense of what there is to argue about.”
All that means this may not get to jury selection for a while.
The trial originally was set to start in January – then suddenly, Sylve and O’Neal pleaded guilty, and that led to delays. It was pushed further back when Konat was still on the case, so as not to conflict with the South Park murder/rapes trial. Even Judge DuBuque acknowledged yesterday, “This [Bushaw murder] case has been proceeding in a piecemeal fashion.”
It’s also a complicated case – and as noted again in court yesterday, evidence will include a copious amount of cell-phone records – with the general allegation that Bushaw was killed because Huber believed he had been involved in a home-invasion robbery; Sylve and O’Neal allegedly were the triggermen, and Chaney the getaway driver.
(Photo credit: January 2011, by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
STEVE BUSHAW MURDER TRIAL BEGINS: We’re at the King County Courthouse courtroom of Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque, where the rescheduled murder trial is starting this afternoon for the two remaining defendants in the February 2009 Junction shooting death of 26-year-old Steve Bushaw (two have already pleaded guilty). A jury has to be chosen before testimony can begin; right now, various motions are being brought up, including the prosecution’s proposal to drop the “conspiracy to commit murder” charge and leave the two defendants, Brandon Chaney and Bryce Huber, charged with first-degree murder/firearm enhancement. We’ll have a separate report on today’s proceedings later. (2:42 pm note – court has already recessed for the day.)
GATEWOOD ARSON: John C. Siegel, charged with arson and domestic violence in the June 28th fire at the Gatewood home he owned with his ex-wife, is scheduled to return to court tomorrow for a case-setting hearing, after pleading guilty last week. He remains in jail, status listed as “bail denied” (though a $1 million bail amount remains on the books for the arson charge).
FAIRMOUNT SPRINGS BURGLARY/ASSAULT: Monty Richardson, arrested two weeks ago and charged with breaking into a neighbor’s house and attacking her, was in court last week to answer the burglary, assault, and unlawful-imprisonment charges against him. He pleaded not guilty and remains in jail, with his bail still $250,000, due back in court for a case-setting hearing on July 25th.
STOLEN CAR/CAR-THEFT-TOOLS CASE: Repeat offender Skyelar Hailey remains in the Regional Justice Center jail in Kent, with bail set at $65,000, in a possession-of-stolen-vehicle/vehicle-theft-tools case we detailed here last month. He too was in court last week to plead guilty, and has a case-setting hearing set this Wednesday.
No arrests yet in connection with the stabbing of two men Saturday night near Hamilton Viewpoint Park in North Admiral (original WSB coverage here). But friends of the victims say the initial police report at the scene – that the men were believed to be transients living in the park – is wrong, that the two men are Admiral residents who were “out for a walk.” Bob identified them in this comment as 25-year-old Zach and 52-year-old Glen. We don’t know their conditions, and there is no new official police information regarding the circumstances; that, we hope to get tomorrow. But to another point that has come up in the comments following last night’s coverage, “officers do check Hamilton Viewpoint regularly,” according to Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams, who says computer logs show “an officer who works the district had logged out to the park and checked it an hour before this incident happened … The officer would have been very visible to anyone who was actually in the park.” One last point: The incident, he says, happened before the park’s 11:30 closing time – it was reported to SPD at 11:28, a few minutes after it happened (the Fire Department’s online log shows medics dispatched at 11:31).
(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli; this one substituted at 1:06 am for original same-angle cameraphone photo)
11:36 PM: Police and fire are rushing to California/Donald in North Admiral (map), in the Hamilton Viewpoint Park area. The report is of two people stabbed, both male, one about 30, one about 50. Both are being rushed to Harborview Medical Center. There’s no suspect description but they might be on foot, according to the scanner. We have crews on the way to the scene.
11:48 PM UPDATE: WSB’s Christopher Boffoli has just arrived. Adding his cameraphone photo of the two medic units, M-32 and M-10, that are taking the stabbing victims to Harborview. Also note that the north end of California SW is blocked off starting at SW Atlantic.
11:58 PM UPDATE: Witnesses tell Christopher that they heard a commotion in the park and saw a group of people walking up California – the stabbing, he was told, happened midway up the block, outside the park, between SW Donald and SW Atlantic. The two medic units are now about to leave for the hospital.
12:16 AM UPDATE: Police tell Christopher at the scene that this is what they are learning so far: They believe the victims are transients who reside in Hamilton Viewpoint Park. They were confronted by a group of as many as 8 people, described as Hispanic men and women. An argument erupted into violence. One of the transients did not initially realize he had been stabbed. One of the victims (apparently the younger one) is in critical condition. Police have not found any weapons yet, nor do they have additional leads yet.
12:28 AM UPDATE: California has reopened to traffic, reports Christopher, but the west side of the street is “cordoned off.” He has been told one victim was stabbed in the side, the other in upper back/shoulder area.
(8:23 PM TOPLINE: 1 man shot, not life-threatening, no arrests so far, new details just added from police)
5:24 PM: We’re at SW 97th and 33rd SW in Arbor Heights (map), where a shooting was reported in the 9700 block of 33rd a short time ago. Police are said to be looking for a male suspect who got away in a red vehicle – update, a maroon Bronco. Officers are searching for evidence and talking to possible witnesses.
They believe the victim and suspect may know each other. Scanner traffic indicates the victim was shot once, 40-caliber bullet, through the hip area.
ADDED 5:56 PM: Gang unit detectives are here, though that doesn’t always mean gang activity is suspected – and some of them already have left. Lt. Von Levandowski from the Southwest Precinct has just provided more information: The victim is a man, shot while standing on the sidewalk, with shots fired by somebody in a vehicle. They now think three people were in that vehicle, which they describe as a maroon SUV (not necessarily a Bronco). Investigators have been combing the block for shell casings, trying to determine exactly which direction the shot was fired from.
6:26 PM: Nothing new. SPD media-response Det. Mark Jamieson is expected to brief media at the scene shortly.
7:06 PM: Det. Jamieson was diverted elsewhere before arriving, but via Twitter, reports that the victim and suspect did know each other, that the victim’s injury is not life-threatening, and that “gang detectives are investigating.”
8:23 PM: New information from police via SPD Blotter:
On July 16th, at about 5:10 PM, Southwest Precinct officers responded to the 9700 Block of 33 Avenue Southwest on a report of a shooting. An adult male who had apparently befriended the suspects the night before, met the suspects, described as two black men and a white female, outside of a residence where he was planning on purchasing some items from one of the suspects. As the victim reached for his wallet, one of the suspects pulled out a gun. There was a struggle over the weapon, and the victim was shot once in the buttocks. The suspects fled in a maroon Ford Bronco. Police and Seattle Fire responded to the scene and SFD transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center. The injury is not considered life-threatening.
Gang detectives also responded and are following up on potential leads. This remains an active and ongoing investigation.
Out of the WSB inbox from Kate, an expectant mom who is about to deliver:
I just wanted people to know that our car was stolen out of our alley driveway either late last night or early this morning (in the 5400 block of 35th Ave SW). The car was recovered after having been driven up onto someone’s yard (crashing into a picket fence of one house and ending up in the front yard of another) about a mile and a half from our house. The car was found on Holden near 37th Ave SW. The damage to the car is fairly minor, but the timing is horrible and the one major thing missing from the car is something that we could certainly use.
My husband and I had just gotten back from the hospital last night where I went into early labor. They sent me home to labor further and rest and the car was stolen while we were asleep. Though we are happy to have the car back (since we are getting ready to go back to the hospital), we are now without our infant car seat which, for some reason, was the one major thing they took out of the car. Without revealing too many details (the cops are pretty sure they know who did it and are tracking them down), we don’t know if they took the car seat to sell or use, or if they got rid of it because it cramped their style. If that is the case and anyone finds a Keyfit30 infant car seat with 3 dangling toys hanging from the canopy, we’d love to have it back . . . Preferably soon, since I am now a week past my due date.
Clearly this is also a reminder to keep valuables out of cars-even if you think you need them at any moment . . . They took the seat and the base, however, which seems to have required some amount of maneuvering on their part.
Thanks to everyone who sent notes tonight wondering about sirens/police searching/etc. Sometimes, it’s nothing. In this case, we have information on two cases, after checking with police. First – the Wash House in the 6300 block of 35th SW (map) was robbed just after 9:30 pm. Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams says the robbers were described as “four young-adult-age suspects, one of whom was armed with what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun.” It was later found and turned out to be a pellet gun. It was used to hit the laundromat clerk in the head; Lt. Williams says Seattle Fire crews treated the clerk for a “laceration.” No arrests so far. We also asked about officers searching in the Gatewood area, around the 6700 block of 38th SW (map), in the 11 pm hour. He says a resident called 911 after hearing “noises outside her home”; officers searched but didn’t find anything.
Two reports of vandalism in West Seattle Crime Watch today, including one at a P-Patch that trashed not just gardeners’ hard work, but also crops destined to feed local food-bank clients. From Tiffany, who shared the photo:
I’m writing to let you know that the West Genesee P-Patch (SW Genesee & 42nd Ave SW) was vandalized last night. It happened sometime between 7pm last night and 9am this morning. The vandals overturned our picnic table, threw one of the benches in one of the plots, uprooted plants and tomato cages, and smashed plants. There wasn’t a single plot that escaped damage, though some suffered more than others. We all finally had nice gardens going after a slow start to summer, so needless to say, we’re pretty bummed out. Most disappointing though, is the damage they did to our food bank plot. The vandals completely destroyed all our squash plants, broccoli, and some of the kale and we won’t be able to save those. We will all be salvaging as much of the destroyed plants as we can however, from both our food bank plot and our own plots, and donating it to the food bank so it won’t go to waste.
The silver lining here is that the damage was confined to plants and we won’t have to replace any of the structures. Also, many of the uprooted plants will survive if we can all get them back into the ground soon. It just stinks because we all work hard on our gardens and are happy to be a part of a community garden that brightens up the neighborhood and helps provide fresh food for those in need (so many great comments from people walking by to the Summerfest this weekend!). It’s a blow to have someone come in and try to ruin that.
Anyway, I hope you can post this information on the blog and ask people in the area keep an eye out to help us prevent this from happening again. For now we’ll do our best to get our garden back in shape!
Another vandalism case not far away, after the jump:Read More
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*An alert citizen called 911 early Tuesday to report a suspicious male with a flashlight peering into car windows near the 4000 block of 34th SW. Officers arrived and encountered one of the community’s more prolific thieves. He was carrying a backpack that held two GPS devices, and his jacket pocket contained a large amount of change. The 18-year-old Delridge-area resident was booked into King County Jail.
*Just after midnight Saturday, a taxi driver picked up a fare downtown and drove her to the 6700 block of Delridge. She started to leave without paying. He threatened to call 911. Her response? “Then I’ll shoot you.” The driver called her bluff (and 911) and continued driving until he saw patrol cars approaching in the 6900 block of Delridge. Officers questioned the woman, asking if she had a gun. She opened her purse, which contained a loaded five-shot Smith and Wesson. She was booked into King County jail for investigation of assault.
After the jump, four more summaries, including one with more information on a story covered as breaking news earlier this week:Read More
Two notes in West Seattle Crime Watch today – but first, two notes from nearby communities: Our partner site White Center Now is covering the WC raid that is reported to be linked to a federal sweep today regarding illegal cigarettes. The story’s here. Also, police are asking for help with solving a South Park hit-and-run – details here. Meantime, in West Seattle, we’ve been asked to alert the wider community to an alert that the Arbor Heights Swim & Tennis Club has reported to police about a suspicious stranger, a man reportedly seen hanging around by the back gate of the club three times in the past week (110th/32nd), white, long dark hair, in his 40s, associated with a red Chevrolet Silverado truck, plates have changed (one number given to police turned out to have expired 10 years ago).
Second note: Tom reports his blue Santa Cruz mountain bike was stolen from his garage at California/Raymond on Sunday or Monday, “an older full-suspension model with curved handle bars (not the typical straight handle bars you see on mountain bikes) and boxy looking chain stays.” He’s filed a report, so let police know if you see it.
(May 1, 2011, WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One morning back in May, we published a short story with two photos (including the one above) of Seattle Police investigators on the “low bridge” – which they had shut down for a short time to gather evidence. No one would comment about which case they were investigating.
This afternoon, we know what case it was: They were investigating the disappearance and death last winter of 24-year-old West Seattle resident Jeremy Peck. You will likely recall the huge search for him in early January, and then the discovery of his body on a Bainbridge Island beach:
(January 2011 photo by Tristan Baurick/Kitsap Sun; used with permission)
He was reported to have been last seen the morning of December 24th at the Admiral Pub.
Seattle Police picked up the investigation, which has been classified only as a “suspicious death.” After doing an autopsy, and receiving toxicology reports weeks later, the King County Medical Examiner told WSB they might never know how he died, unless new evidence emerged.
But now, SPD confirms that a search warrant has been unsealed, and we have obtained the documents including that search warrant, which was for a West Seattle residence. The narrative accompanying the search warrant details why police have reason to believe that Peck may have been killed, including a tip about two men seen putting something heavy into the water from the “low bridge” not long after the time that Peck was last seen. Police tracked down a car linked to that sighting. After it was tested for blood, the documents say, DNA testing matched it to Peck’s blood.
The search warrant was sought in early June. Police tell WSB no one has been arrested, and our check of both court records and the jail register for the two men mentioned in the warrant, so far, does not indicate any charges have been filed either. (WSB policy is to generally not identify suspects until they are charged.) “We have been investigating from day 1, and we continue to investigate,” SPD Sgt. Sean Whitcomb tells WSB. He reiterated that for now, this remains a “suspicious death” and has not so far been classified as a murder.
(Photo by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
Two West Seattle Crime Watch items – this first one, from within the past hour. We received a note asking about a big police response to the Junction QFC. WSB contributor Ellen Cedergreen was there and says some kind of argument/confrontation was involved, apparently involving someone known to frequently hang out outside the store. He had to be subdued, Ellen reports, and a woman who was with him was yelling at officers; Ellen says the two were taken away, as were the dogs they had with them, and that SPD says they’ll be considered to be trespassing if they return to the store. We have an inquiry out seeking more information from police. No injuries reported.
1:18 AM UPDATE: Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams says, “At about 8:07 p.m. officers were dispatched to remove a group of six trespassers from the QFC … At least one of the trespassers also made some threats against the complainant who had called 911. One of the trespassers, an adult male, was uncooperative and threatened the officer’s life. The officer placed him under arrest but had to struggle with the suspect in order to take him in to custody. A second suspect, an adult female who was part of the group of trespassers, obstructed the officer while he was making the arrest so she too was arrested by back-up officers. In addition to the threat charge and resisting arrest, the male suspect will be booked on an outstanding felony warrant. The female suspect will be booked for obstructing the officer. No medical attention was required by anyone involved.”
(back to original 9:12 pm story) Second item:
As reported here on Friday, police say car thieves have been busier than usual lately. Here’s another theft. From J:
My blue 1965 Volkswagen Beetle was stolen from in front of my house … in Fauntlee Hills between 10 pm and 6 am Sunday night/ Saturday morning. If you see this car anywhere else, it is not where it is supposed to be. If anyone does see it give a call to the SPD. They have been contacted and a report has been filed. License plate is 062 zvk. Thank you.
If you see or hear anything suspicious in your neighborhood – particularly around vehicles – don’t hesitate to call 911. That’s the message from Southwest Precinct police, because of what Lt. Ron Rasmussen confirms is “a palpable increase in auto thefts in West Seattle.” We’d noticed the trend and mentioned it as a side note on this unrelated crime story just yesterday, noting that the city police-reports map showed nine auto-theft cases here just from this past Monday through Thursday, and then talked with Lt. Rasmussen today at West Seattle Summer Fest. He says the stolen cars are “mostly mid-’90s Honda products with a tendency toward the Civics. It appears to be occurring mostly between 10 at night and 5 in the morning.” He says no particular neighborhood is getting targeted – it’s all over West Seattle.
(Video of entire sentencing hearing, about 25 minutes, added 5:23 pm)
We’re at the King County Courthouse downtown, where West Seattle catalytic-converter thief and repeat offender Joel Lund, 28, has just been sentenced by Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer. 
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, represented by senior deputy prosecutor Shaya Calvo, had asked for the top of the range available – 29 months in prison; Lund pleaded guilty last month to the charges filed in the case, including malicious mischief for a February incident involving converter theft, and malicious mischief/stolen-property trafficking, related to a variety of cases (including a theft at the Boren School site), but the case discussed most at the sentencing was the one reported here, in which the converter was taken from a vehicle belonging to an disabled 78-year-old woman. Judge Shaffer read a letter written by the victim, saying the theft deprived her of transportation for more than two weeks. “She could have starved,” said the judge, admonishing Lund.
While Judge Shaffer described herself as “notorious” for sentences that included less prison time and more drug-treatment time – the defense had asked for that kind of a sentence – she said that Lund’s repeated crimes in the West Seattle community were, among other things, “callous.” Speaking to her in the courtroom, Lund claimed he wanted to turn his life around now because of his daughter, who is four. But the judge noted that he had repeated convictions every year since her birth, saying it didn’t seem like fatherhood had been a “motivating factor” thus far. (We recorded the entire hearing on video and will upload it to add to this story when we are back at headquarters.) And she ordered the 29-month sentence.
Despite his lengthy history, this will be the first time Lund has gone into the state prison system. His most recent arrest was in April; he had been allowed into a community work-release type of program after the February arrest but violated its terms by getting arrested again, as we had reported here.
If you routinely drive along Fauntleroy near 35th, just west of the entrance to the West Seattle Bridge, you might have noticed a more-visible-than-usual burst of tagging vandalism earlier this week. Part of it is shown above (with the tags themselves blurred, as is WSB policy). Tagging is always a double crime – not only has someone’s property been vandalized, but the owner is usually expected to clean it up, and that can cost. Bob Heinemann knows this firsthand, since the vandalized building is the place where he’ll soon be moving his SIMA Martial Arts studio (it’s currently in the 42nd/Alaska building that will come down when the Conner Homes project starts going up). Just after we took the photo, we met him there, talking to someone about getting it painted over. (By the way, the city has a new paint-out program this summer – check it out here.)
Christina shared that photo of police checking for prints after a burglary at her home on Wednesday:
I came home (Wednesday) to find my house (in the 9400 block of) 14th Ave SW had been burglarized. They broke the lock on my bathroom window and entered through there. They were able to get 2 laptops, 2 digital cameras and a handgun. None of our neighbors saw or heard anything and I happen to have 3 dogs that were kenneled at the time. Once they got what they wanted from the house, they left through the side door. This happened between 11 am and 430 pm. The police were able to life several fingerprints from the window screen that they removed.
Side note: Checking the city online map (which lag at least several hours after incidents are reported), while this does not seem to be a prolific week for burglars so far, nine car thefts have been reported in West Seattle since Monday alone.
Court documents reveal more information about the arrest reported here last week in connection with the attack on a 65-year-old Fairmount Springs woman two months ago – an attack so alarming, it led to a community meeting with a city councilmember in attendance. A neighbor of the victim, 48-year-old Monty Richardson, is charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree assault, and unlawful imprisonment. “The victim in this case easily could have died,” prosecutors write, asking for $250,000 bail and detailing the vicious attack Richardson is charged with carrying out.Read More
September 26th was set today as the trial date for Duane Starkenburg, the Gatewood man arrested in late January and charged in connection with three attacks on women in Lincoln Park. His court appearance today was a brief “status conference”; if nothing changes in the case between now and September, he will appear for a September 9th hearing to confirm whether both sides are ready to go ahead with the trial later that month. (More backstory on the case is in our previous report, from his last court appearance in May.)
The usual place to post lost/found on WSB is the Forum – unless it’s a pet, since they have their own page (several reunions already today!) – but two unusual reports have come in, possibly crime-related, so we’re spotlighting them here – a found safe and a missing/stolen volleyball net (whose owner is offering a reward):Read More
James hopes you will be on the lookout for his car, stolen early today:
We live down on the 5600 block of 17th Ave. My wife and I were up until 2:30 am watching a movie in our living room and I know my 1997 Honda Accord was still sitting in front of our house. About 9:30 am on my favorite holiday (July 4th), I noticed my neighbor’s car sitting in front of my house. At that point I realized my car was gone. My neighbor said they moved their car there about 7 am to do yard work. So sometime between 2:30 and 7 am on July 4th, my 1997 beige Honda Accord was stolen. It has a little Japanese sticker on the gas tank panel. There is nothing fancy about this car. No high-end stereo equipment. No crazy muffler or rims. Just a plain old car. The police responded within minutes and filed a report.
2 West Seattle Crime Watch reports from the WSB inbox, an attempted burglary and a case of vehicle vandalism – read on:Read More
Just in from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office: Charges are now filed against 40-year-old John C. Siegel, the man arrested Tuesday night in connection with the fire that investigators say was set that morning at the Gatewood home he co-owns. The charges are 1st-degree arson/domestic violence and domestic violence/violation of a court order. Siegel remains in jail, awaiting arraignment on July 14th; he was arrested after being treated at Harborview Medical Center for a wrist injury that has been described as self-inflicted. Prosecutors have asked that his bail be set at $1 million. More after the jump:Read More
From our partners at the Seattle Times: Isaiah Kalebu has been found guilty in the 2009 South Park murder/rapes case. The woman he killed, Teresa Butz (right), had heroically taken action that saved her partner’s life, before losing her own. His sentencing in August is a formality, as the aggravated-murder conviction automatically means life in prison with no chance of parole, since the death penalty was not sought because of his mental-illness history. Details in the Times report here.
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