The father of a 16-year-old shot and killed in a slaying inside the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest is calling on Congress to probe the city’s actions five years ago and the Seattle Police Department’s investigation into the shooting that left his son mortally wounded in a bullet-riddled jeep on 12th Ave in the midst of a chaotic, dangerous night in the protest camp.
Lawyers for Antonio Mays Sr. have called on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to hold a hearing on the deadly shooting that remains unsolved by Seattle Police. Continue reading →
A jury has found Patrick Cooney guilty of second degree murder and assault in the deadly shooting of Elijah Lewis on Capitol Hill.
Prosecutors said security video from Seattle Central and the Walgreens at the corner of Broadway and Pine showed Cooney opening fire on the car driven by Lewis as he picked up his young nephew even as it was turning to leave onto Broadway.
Police say Cooney was riding a rental electric scooter on E Pine just after 5 PM on April 1, 2023 when he became embroiled in the altercation and opened fire into the vehicle Lewis was driving, striking him with a fatal shot and hitting the child in the calf. The child was treated for his injuries and released from the hospital. Lewis was shot and died at Harborview later that night.
CHS reported here on court battles over evidence in the case including the 37-year-old Cooney’s previous incidents involving firearms with Capitol Hill drivers.
The jury’s decision brings the justice process nearer a close. Cooney is slated to be sentenced in March.
Lewis, 23 years old at the time of the killing, is remembered as a dedicated community builder and entrepreneur in the Central District and Africatown communities. He was proud of his efforts as a self-described “serial entrepreneur” in addition to his work with Sankofa Theater and doing outreach for the Africatown Community Land Trust and events like this Black Wall Street festival. A USA Today columnist wrote that Lewis “could have been the next MLK.”
“Today, a King County jury returned a guilty verdict for Mr. Cooney’s role in the tragic murder of Elijah Lewis and shooting his young nephew,” said King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion. “I am grateful to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office team for their work on this case. My sympathies continue to be with Mr. Lewis’s family and those who loved him.”
The prosecutor’s office said the total statewide standard sentencing range for second-degree murder and first-degree assault convictions, each with firearm enhancements is 336 to 463 months.
The sentencing date is scheduled for March 14 in the King County Courthouse, though there’s a possibility that could be continued by the court, the prosecutor’s office said.
UPDATE: The sentencing hearing has been continued to late April.
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The City of Seattle is facing a wage theft lawsuit over errors from a new system that handles payroll for its more than 13,000 workers.
The new suit alleges the city’s implementation of the Workday payroll system has caused “problems related to underpayments, incorrect paycheck deductions, missing leave accruals, and excessive overpayment deductions,” Geekwire reports. Continue reading →
Prosecutors have filed murder charges against the man arrested in last weekend’s deadly shooting during a dispute over an electric scooter at a 12th Ave encampment.
William Bender, 30, is charged with second degree murder and unlawful possession of a handgun in the killing at the camp. The suspect has past arrests for burglary, malicious mischief, trespass, and violating a domestic violence protection order among other convictions. He is being held in King County Jail on $2 million bail.
CHS reported here on details of the early Saturday killing of 38-year-old Carl Hatfield who witnesses said beat up Bender who was reportedly trying to sell a scooter that morning at the camp. Police say one witness told them Hatfield was shot while riding the scooter after having taken it from Bender over a dispute over a stolen phone. Continue reading →
The Seattle Times reports that the city’s new criminal banishment zones aren’t being used by police or the justice system and only one person has so far been banned from a zone — a person arrested for drug use on Capitol Hill.
According to Seattle Municipal Court records obtained by CHS, the lone Seattle “STAY OUT OF DRUG AREA ORDER” was issued in December in a bust for smoking fentanyl outside the Harvard Market QFC.
“I observed XXX had a ‘tooter’ straw in her mouth. She had a piece of tin foil held up under the tooter straw,” the redacted SPD report on the incident reads. “Beneath the tin foil, XXX apparently had a lighter she used to ignite something on the surface of the tin foil and inhale the resulting smoke through the tooter straw.” Continue reading →
The company now behind Capitol HIll-born beauty brand Rudy’s Barbershop and a handful of PNW standards collected by the private equity firm during the pandemic has reached a deal hoped to help the company from being forced into bankruptcy.
Sortis Brands reached the agreement and averted a key hearing last week with a group of creditors engaged in a federal court battle that could have forced the company into bankruptcy over a disputed $8 million in debt.
Details of the arrangement still need to be approved by Oregon’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court but The Oregonian reports the proposed settlement has tentatively staved off liquidation for the company. Continue reading →
Family and loved ones of Elijah Lewis are worried that court proceedings are stacked against justice as the trial of the man who shot and killed the 23-year-old community leader and activist and injured Lewis’s young nephew in a road rage confrontation on Capitol Hill begins.
Defendant Patrick Cooney pleaded not guilty in the April 1, 2023 killing and has remained jailed on $2 million bail since. Lawyers for the 37-year-old are set to argue Cooney shot Lewis in fear he would be run over as he rode a rental Lime scooter up E Pine. Lewis was in the neighborhood to pick up his nephew from his nearby apartment home and take him to a monster truck rally at Lumen Field to celebrate the child’s birthday. Much of the confrontation was captured on security video.
Cooney’s defense team has successfully argued to limit some evidence from being presented to the jury when proceedings begin including that police reported the shooter was also armed with a knife and his firearm lacked a serial number.
Judge Sean P. O’Donnell also ruled to limit the presentation of police records showing Cooney has been investigated for firearm incidents multiple times while riding Lime scooters around Capitol Hill prior to the shooting. Continue reading →
Metro deadly stabbing charges: Richard Sitzlack has been charged with second degree murder in the deadly stabbing of Metro driver Shawn Yim. The 53-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the charges which include a count of third degree assault. Yim was stabbed and killed in an overnight confrontation in the University District in mid-December that has led to increased calls for more to be done to protect drivers and riders on the city’s public transit systems. Prosecutors say Yim told Sitzlack to exit the coach after an argument about a window on the bus. Surveillance video showed Sitzlack allegedly pepper spraying Yim and the driver pursuing him out of the bus. The driver was stabbed repeatedly and died about a block away. Sitzlack is jailed on $5 million bail.
Cop who hit and killed Jaahnavi Kandula fired: Two years after the deadly collision, the Seattle Police officer who struck and killed Jaahnavi Kandula as she crossed a South Lake Union street has been fired. Interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr finalized the termination of Kevin Dave this week, citing the “poor decision” of the officer who investigators say struck and killed the 23-year-old as he sped to the scene of a reported overdose. The January 2023 incident had repercussions beyond the tragic death of the young woman as issues of accountability and community complicated negotiations over a new contract with the police officer union. Union leader, Seattle Police Department veteran, and former East Precinct officer Daniel Auderer was fired in July over his comments about Kandula caught on his body cam the night of her death. King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion has declined to press charges against Dave.
No charges for driver in Capitol Hill van theft shooting: The delivery driver police say shot an alleged car thief in the chest during the theft of a delivery van from outside a Capitol Hill apartment building in December won’t face charges in the incident. Court records show Francisco Rodriguez Martinez faces a felony charge of auto theft in the early morning December 14th incident at the PIVOT apartment building on Pine. CHS reported here on the shooting as police said the delivery driver attempted to stop the Toyota Venza from being ripped off as he returned to the vehicle after delivering a package. According to the court documents, police said the driver told them he feared that he would be run over in the incident when he opened fire. Police found Martinez slumped over in the vehicle after the driver was able to use tracking to locate the van a few blocks away outside a downtown hotel. The suspect was rushed to the hospital and treated for the life-threatening gunshot wound. Court documents show Martinez lives in Bellevue and has no significant criminal history in national crime records. Police said the driver’s concealed pistol license was current and his 9mm Sig Sauer handgun was legally registered.
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As a doughnut invader from the south prepares its sweet assault on the city with a Capitol Hill beachhead, a veteran of Seattle’s fried dough scene is financially struggling.
Federal court documents show Mighty-O Donuts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July in a case where the filings continue over the more than $1 million in liabilities the small Seattle company carries.
CHS has asked the company for more information about its future and its employees after the filing that came as Might-O founder Ryan Kellner saw profits at his four cafes and production facility dip to near zero this summer.
In its filing, the company blames the pandemic and national economic issues for its troubles saying “a combination of factors, including the adverse effects of the pandemic, increased costs due to inflation, decreased sales, and high fixed lease costs” led to the bankruptcy.
“Mighty-O experienced modest growth for many years until the COVID-19 pandemic in
2020,” one document reads. “The pandemic severely impacted Mighty-O’s ability to operate a financially sound business. The company experienced a significant drop in customer traffic and a decrease in employee availability, preventing it from operating at full capacity. Additionally, Mighty-O faced major disruptions in supply chains, vendor services, and rising costs due to inflation.” Continue reading →
Adrian Diaz lawsuit: Former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz continues to embarrass Seattle. After causing a stir by suddenly coming out as gay amid harassment allegations while continuing on the city’s payroll even after being removed from the job, the disgraced chief was placed on administrative leave last month by Interim Police Chief Sue Rahr as Diaz has brought a $10 million claim against the city. The claim alleges the city “wrongfully discharged and discriminated, harassed and retaliated against (Diaz) when he expressed his sexual orientation” to Mayor Bruce Harrell and Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess,” the Seattle Times reports. Diaz’s administrative leave, meanwhile, comes as he was also being investigated for lying in addition to the harassment allegations. Jamie Tompkins, the former chief of staff to Diaz, resigned earlier this month as her relationship with Diaz is being investigated by the city.
Garfield sex abuse settlement: Seattle Public Schools has settled a Garfield High School coach sex abuse lawsuit for $16 million. CHS reported here earlier this year on the lawsuit brought on behalf of a former student who said two Garfield coaches sexually abused her for years. Former coach Walter Junior Jones continues to await trial on two felony child rape charges in King County Superior Court. Previously, Garfield girls basketball coach Marvin Hall was fired in 2022 after a different student reported his in appropriate actions. KUOW reports the settlement was the district’s largest ever.
New conviction for man who set 2023 Broadway tent fire: A man convicted of third degree assault and first degree malicious mischief in a fire set to a Broadway tent that injured the woman living in the sidewalk encampment in spring of 2023 has again been convicted for setting a dangerous fire in the city. King County Superior Court records show Kendrick Epps was convicted of first degree reckless burning in a jury trial this fall after his arrest earlier this year for a fire found to be intentionally set to an Aurora Ave businesses in April. The Aurora fire incident came after Epps’s release from jail. Court records show Epps pleaded guilty to reduced charges and was sentenced to a year in jail for the 2023 Broadway fire that injured the woman and damaged one of the apartment buildings above Capitol Hill Station. Police say Epps was arrested again earlier this year in the Aurora fire that damaged the business structure but fortunately caused no injuries. Court records show Epps received a new six-month sentence in the latest case.
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