Seattle Criminal Defense

Suspected drunk driver in head-on collision

2009-11-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

by TRAVIS PITTMAN / KING5.com

Posted on November 12, 2009 at 10:25 AM

AUBURN, Wash. – State troopers believe an Idaho man may have been drunk when he collided head-on with a car on State Route 18, sending that driver to the hospital early Thursday morning.

The Washington State Patrol says at about 3:15 a.m., a 2001 Toyota Tacoma was being driven erratically on northbound Interstate 5 near Federal Way. A witness followed the truck as it exited onto SR 18 and then onto Weyerhaeuser Way.

Troopers say the pickup then got back onto SR 18, but was headed eastbound in the westbound lanes, headed down Peasley Canyon toward Auburn. The truck collided head-on with a 1993 Subaru Legacy, driven by a 42-year-old Auburn man.

Both drivers were taken to Harborview Medical Center. The Subaru driver had serious injuries. The driver of the Toyota, a 25-year-old Soda Springs, Idaho man, had minor injuries.

The pickup driver is being investigated for vehicular assault. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the collision.

All lanes of westbound SR 18 were closed at the scene for about two hours while troopers investigated. Both vehicles were crushed in the accident.

Bellevue woman accused of raping daughter's boyfriend

2009-11-12T13:57:00.000-08:00

KOMO-TV STAFF

BELLEVUE -- Police here have arrested a woman for allegedly raping her daughter's 14-year-old boyfriend.

The 32-year-old woman, who was arrested Thursday at her home for investigation of second-degree child rape, has not been charged.

Police spokeswoman Carla Iafrate said the crime allegedly occurred at the woman's home and was brought to the attention of police last month by state Child Protective Services workers.

Details of the alleged crime and CPS case were not available.

Investigators expect to send the case to the King County Prosecutor's Office later this week, Iafrate said.

In initial move, prosecutors leave room for death sentence

2009-11-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

A King County judge has found probable cause to hold Christopher Monfort on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder and aggravated first-degree murder, a charge that could carry a death sentence.

Monfort, 41, is the suspect in the Halloween slaying of Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton, who was shot to death in his patrol car alongside his partner, Officer Britt Sweeney. Sweeney ducked and was grazed in the back, receiving a non-life threatening wound.

On Friday, Seattle detectives shot Monfort at his Tukwila home after he allegedly drew a pistol. Police have since said that DNA evidence links Monfort to the shooting and a separate arson of four police cars.

Investigators said an assault rifle found at Monfort's home matches to bullets recovered from the shooting.

Following a request by defense attorneys to meet with the Brenton's alleged killer, King County Superior Court Judge Sharon Armstrong found Monday that prosecutors had met the initial legal standard to detain Monfort. Charges are expected to follow later this week.

Asking to receive access to Monfort, veteran public defenders Julie Lawry and Gary Davis told a King County Superior Court judge their efforts to visit the man had been blocked by law enforcement and hospital staff since the shooting.

Monfort remains under guard at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Lawry said during the emergency hearing Monday. Though she could not offer details, she said she believes he remains on a ventilator but may have written the word "attorney" on a piece of paper near his hospital bed.

Lawry said Monfort's family has also been blocked from access to his hospital room, and denied information about his condition.

"They're devastated," said Lawry, who met with Monfort's relatives earlier Monday. "They're devastated for two people, the officer and Christopher."

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Baird said that Monfort had been read his Miranda rights but offered no reply. Though he had not requested an attorney, prosecutors did not object to Lawry and Davis joining the case nor did they dispute that Monfort is in fact in custody.

Like Lawry, Baird said he had not been apprised of Monfort's condition and did not know whether he'd suffered any brain damage during the shooting.

"He's in no condition to come to court," Baird told the judge. "And I have no idea when he will be."

With Armstrong's finding, prosecutors now have until Friday to file formal charges in the case. Should an aggravated murder charge be filed in Brenton's death, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg would then have to decide whether to seek a death sentence.

While state law requires a decision within 30 days of charges being filed, the process is often delayed due to defense requests for additional time to gather evidence that could sway prosecutors from seeking a death sentence. Execution or a life sentence are the only punishments available following a conviction of aggravated murder.

Satterberg is currently facing a similar choice in the case of Isaiah Kalebu, who pleaded not guilty in August to charges that he raped and murdered Theresa Butz in her South Park home.

Satterberg previously opted to seek a death sentence in his first aggravated murder case since taking office, that of accused Carnation killers Michele Anderson and Joseph McEnroe.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.

Kent police identify shooting victim as Lt. Gov. Brad Owen's son

2009-11-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

By DENNIS BOX
COVINGTON REPORTER

The Kent Police Department confirmed the victim in a shooting incident in Kent is 37-year-old Mark Owen, son of Lt. Gov. Brad Owen.

Mark Owen is listed in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center.

The 63-year-old suspect, a manager at Kent Body and Paint located at 831 5th Av. S., where the shooting occurred, is also at Harborview after turning the firearm on himself.

According to a Kent Police Department statement, the man is alive, but has life-threatening injuries.

The released also stated Lt. Gov. Owen has been fully cooperative with the investigation and is at Harborview with his son.

Kent Police Chief Steve Strachan stated in the release, “Although there is never any reason or logic for violence in the work place, we are diligently investigating the circumstances that led up to this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with Lt. Gov. Owen and his family at this very difficult time."

An earlier release from the department stated the shooting occurred at 2:30 p.m. today.

When officers arrived at the scene they found Mark Owen with a gunshot injury to the arm and abdomen.
Officers found the 63-year-old man about one block away. According to the release the man had shot himself in the head.

Both suspects were treated at the scene by the Kent Fire Department emergency medical personnel and transported to Harborview Medical Center.

This article was originally published in the Covington Reporter on November 9, 2009.
Dennis Box can be reached at editor@maplevalleyreporter.com.

Couple pleads not guilty to Webcasting rape of girl

2009-11-11T10:54:00.000-08:00

KOMO-TV STAFF

A man and his ex-wife accused of broadcasting live online the rape of a 4-year-old girl pleaded not guilty to all charges in court Monday.

Brian K. Beston, 36, of Kent, and Hollie Beston, 31, of Burien, have each been charged with first-degree child rape, first-degree child molestation, exploitation of a minor and dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually-explicit conduct.

According to court documents, the two abused the girl between June 2009 and Oct. 23, 2009, and sent child pornography to another accused child molester in San Diego whom they met online.

It was FBI agents investigating the San Diego suspect who brought the Bestons' case to the attention of Seattle police.

The Bestons allegedly met the California man on Craigslist where the man, posing as a single mother under the handle "jennymomsd," had posted an entry looking for other parents in both San Diego and Seattle, according to investigators.

Brian Beston first came across jennymomsd, and introduced the person to Hollie Beston, investigators said, initiating a correspondence via e-mail and instant messenger between the three of them.

The couple began exchanging child porn with jennymomsd and soon the Internet contact "was accepted as a fellow child lover," the court documents said. Jennymomsd then requested pornographic images of children and began receiving pictures of a young girl, according to detectives.

Jennymomsd claimed to have a brother interested in having sex with children, prosecutors said, and the conversations eventually turned to talks of this brother visiting Seattle to have sex with the young girl featured in the photographs sent by the Bestons.

But Jennymomsd remained skeptical of the authenticity of the Bestons' photos; he thought the images may have been pulled from the Internet, he told investigators. When he expressed his skepticism to Brian Beston, the Kent man offered to present the girl via a live video feed, the documents said.

Brian Beston, using the camera on his computer, provided a live feed showing him sexually molesting the girl for approximately five minutes, detectives said, even briefly holding up a sheet of paper with the day's date written on it to prove the authenticity of the feed.

The man who went by the username jennymomsd later confirmed to federal agents that the girl featured in the feed was the same girl who had appeared in the 40 to 50 pornographic images the Bestons had sent him throughout the course of their correspondence.

During another live feed session, jennymomsd watched Brian and Hollie Benson have sex, through which he got a clear view of their faces, according to the statement. This information, along with a phone number Hollie Benson had provided jennymomsd, later helped investigators confirm the Bestons' identity.

After federal agents found the images of the girl on jennymomsd's computer, Seattle police detectives searched the homes of Brian and Hollie Beston, seizing computers, cameras, flash drives and cell phones. Investigators said the equipment had been used to record and distribute child pornography.

Brian Beston admitted to having abused the 4-year-old girl, as well as to having taken images and video of her and sending them over the Internet, the court documents said. Beston told detectives he began abusing the girl in June 2009, and continued to do so once or twice a week until the beginning of October.
Hollie Beston told investigators she had knowledge of the alleged abuse, in which she took "an active role," investigators said. She admitted to having witnessed the abuse, and taking sexually-explicit photos of the girl.

Brian and Hollie Beston are being held in the King County Jail on $500,000 bail.

The alleged victim is in protective custody.

In King County Superior Court on Monday, a judge ordered that the Bestons have no contact with the victim or any other children.

Woman who starved stepdaughter sentenced to prison

2009-11-09T10:04:00.000-08:00

Over defense objections, Carnation woman recieves 3 1/2-year term

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Accused of methodically starving her stepdaughter alongside her husband, Rebecca Arwen Long was sentenced to prison Friday over her attorney's objections.

Long's attorney, alleging that his client suffered a condition commonly know as multiple personality disorder, had asked that she be allowed to continue outpatient mental health treatment. Instead, King County Superior Court Judge William Downing followed the prosecution's recomendation in sentencing Long for starving the girl for years, imposing the maximum 3 1/2-year prison term.

Having entered a modified guilty plea in September, Long stood accused of denying her stepdaughter food and water for years. The abuse was so severe, according to court documents, that the girl lost all but six of her teeth and actually lost weight in the five years before her Aug. 13, 2008 rescue.

Long's codefendant and the girl's father, John Pomeroy, previously pleaded guilty to an identical charge, first-degree criminal mistreatment. He was sentenced to a 3-year prison term, the maximum sentence available within the standard sentencing range.

Recalling the day of the girl's rescue for the court, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Zachary Wagnild described the scene facing a King County sheriff's deputy.

Called to the home after a neighbor reported a young girl crying loudly for hours the night before, the deputy first spoke with Long who denied any disturbance and said her stepdaughter was simply acting up. The deputy asked to speak to the girl.

Intending to let the girl know her tantrum was annoying neighbors, he was shocked when the 47-pound 14-year-old came to the door.

"The emaciated figure that stood before him looked nothing like a teenage girl," Wagnild wrote the court, requesting a 3-year prison term. "What she looked like was a prisoner of war."

In the weeks that followed, authorities and medical providers would begin to comprehend the extent of the torture the girl had endured at the hands of her stepmother and father.

The girl told investigators that, for nearly as long as she could remember her parents had kept her on a starvation diet, locking her in her room at night to prevent her from "sneaking" more than the 6 ounces of water a day she was allowed, Wagnild told the court. Her body told the tale.

Her teeth, eroded due to a lack of saliva, were so brittle one broke when she attempted to bite into a piece of celery, medical records show. Her bones had lacked the fuel for the growth expected during puberty but had hardened with age, holding her at 4-foot, 7-inches tall until she was removed from Long and Pomeroy's care and given treatment that allowed her grow nearly five inches in the past year.

During her imprisonment, she told investigators, she was so thirsty she once used a straw to suck morning condensation off of a window. She said her parents also denied her the usual joys of childhood; she was not allowed to visit friends, use the computer or even pet the golden retriever puppy that became the family dog.

Largely home schooled, the girl complained of her mistreatment while participating in a program at Carnation Elementary School in March 2005. Alarmed school staff passed the report of abuse to police and child protective services, court records show, and demanded that she be removed from her parents' care.

Though the complaint was looked into, investigators ultimately deemed the case a "low risk" and took no substantive action.

"This incident taught (her) that reporting the abuse to authorities did not mean that she would be helped," Wagnild said in court documents. "To the contrary, her reporting only served to make her parents angrier and the abuse more severe."

Long and Pomeroy removed the girl and her younger brother from the school entirely. No one outside the family saw the girl for three years, Wagnild contended, until the deputy arrived at the home.

As her daughter starved, Long continued to care for the girl's younger brother. Child protection investigators note in court documents seeing the boy pulling food from the refrigerator during one home visit after the March 2005 complaint.

Defense attorney Robert Wayne claimed that Long suffers from depression and dissociative identity disorder, known widely as multiple personality disorder.

Speaking with the media following his client's guilty plea, Wayne claimed that Long had suffered with the disorder since the mid-1990s. He contends his client's alleged condition stems from abuse she suffered as a child, and that she'd been treated for the mental illness for many years.

Entering her modified guilty plea -- in which she denied the allegations against her while admitting a jury would likely convict her -- and addressing the court Friday, Long appeared demure and slightly confused. That impression, Wagnild argued, stood at odds with her stepchildren's experience with her.

"Despite living with her for almost eight years, neither (child) had observed Ms. Long act this way," Wagnild said in court documents. "They were both surprised and confused by her sudden change in demeanor."

In court documents, Wayne also claimed Long had been abused by Pomeroy, an assertion that fails to find support from either of Pomeroy's children or the public record. Pomeroy, Wayne claimed, "relished his dominance over Rebecca."

Detectives serving a search warrant on the couple's home in August 2008 describe a different scene in police reports. Resisting the intrusion, Long told officers she was contacting an attorney and ordered Pomeroy to follow them throughout the house documenting any items seized; after searching for writing materials, detectives told the court, Pomeroy obliged his wife.

Wagnild argued in court documents that Long's personal blog -- Shades of Green -- shows that she was far not the distraught, mentally unstable woman portrayed by her attorney.

In dozens of posts, Long describes her knitting projects, her to-do lists and light-hearted arguments with Pomeroy, who is pictured posing for the camera in a sweater knit by Long. She describes herself as someone who enjoys herself, likes to "take it easy" and "self-indulge."

In court documents, Wagnild assailed Long's claims of mental illness and spousal abuse. "Mr. Wayne's claims would be laughable if the consequences of the court's believing them would not be so devastating," Wagnild said. "In short, these claims are fiction. Ms. Long is simply trying to manipulate the system."

Hearing an argument early Friday on whether Long's sentencing proceeding should be sealed to the public, Downing found that the public interest in the case and issues surrounding it outweighed claims by her attorneys that an open hearing would be harmful to Long. He also ruled that declarations filed with the court by Long's psychologist and social worker should be open for public review.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.

Officer shooting suspect linked to arson, called 'domestic terrorist'

2009-11-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

The man suspected of killing a Seattle police officer Halloween night was a loner who had homemade explosives, a military assault rifle and another firearm in his modest Tukwila apartment, investigators said.

The apartment also contained printed news reports of an Oct. 22 arson of four Seattle police vehicles -- a crime investigators think the suspect, Christopher J. Monfort, committed with pipe bombs.

A threatening note was left at the scene, as were fliers referencing "police brutality" that specifically mentioned a recent King County case involving a former sheriff's deputy who beat a teenage girl in a SeaTac holding cell.

A manifesto railing against police brutality and naming the former deputy accused in the jail cell incident was also found in Monfort's apartment, The Seattle Times reported.

An American flag found near where Brenton was shot provided a link between the cases, a law enforcement source said. Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said at a Saturday news conference there was one critical "piece of evidence" at the homicide scene that resembled something else found in the Charles Street arson case.

"This man, from everything that we can tell, appears to be a lone domestic terrorist," he said, adding they haven't ruled out other associates in the crimes.

Seattle police cited Monfort for driving without insurance about a week before the police vehicles were torched. But Pugel said the officers shot were targeted at random and police said Saturday morning a specific motive for Monfort's actions remained unclear.

But police said Monfort, 41, didn't have many friends. The former McNair Scholar at the University of Washington seemed like a know-it-all, but couldn't get hired by the Los Angeles Police Department when he lived there, his former landlord said.

Neighbors in Tukwila said he wasn't very talkative. At Highline Community College, Monfort ran for student government, saying he wanted to make students more aware of civil liberties lost under the federal Patriot Act, according to the college newspaper.

But he failed at that, too. Monfort complained to that newspaper after many of his votes were flagged as fraudulent, and later resigned from the student senate in May 2004, according to minutes of a Highline Board of Trustees meeting.

Thursday afternoon, Seattle police released a profile of the suspected shooter, saying he likely experienced a significant personal crisis in the recent past, possibly related to employment. They also thought he might admire and even act like a police officer.

Monfort had been recently laid off from a job as a security guard or private investigator, a Seattle police source familiar with the investigation said.

Some thought his Datsun 210 matched a car seen passing Seattle police officers Tim Brenton and Britt Sweeney exactly 20 minutes before they were both shot near 29th Avenue and East Yesler Way.

Homicide detectives went to the Tukwila apartment complex while thousands of people at KeyArena remembered Brenton as a dedicated family man who had wanted to follow his father into law enforcement since childhood.

Confronting the suspect

The detectives contacted the manager of The Terrace Apartments, who gave them the name of a tenant whom police traced to the Datsun.

"We didn't touch the car -- we wanted to preserve it for possible evidence," Pugel said of the initial investigation. "We immediately got one of the two King County prosecutors who have been embedded with us since this investigation began last Saturday night."

Two more Seattle police teams were sent to secure the vehicle and were aided by plain-clothes Tukwila detectives.

While officers walked through a parking lot near other officers, Monfort walked toward them. Pugel said the suspect immediately pulled a gun.

But it didn't fire, police said. Monfort ran a short distance before he was shot in another confrontation. The Seattle homicide detectives fired four to six rounds, a department spokesman said.

Besides the old hatchback that police say Monfort may have used in the police shooting, neighbors also recalled the suspect driving a car that looked like a former police vehicle -- a green Crown Victoria recovered by investigators, Pugel said Saturday.

Tangee Moses, who lives in the same apartment complex, said she heard four shots about 3:15 p.m. and peeked out a window. She saw police and heard someone yell.

Two people who also were detained by police Friday were not connected to the police shooting case, Pugel said.

Monfort remained in serious condition Sunday morning at Harborview Medical Center.

Friday night, all residents of the complex were evacuated after the Tukwila Fire Department arranged for buses to temporary housing. Investigators called in a remote-controlled police device to clear sections believed to contain explosives.

An off-duty Tukwila firefighter who lives nearby told Seattle police that he'd previously responded to calls of loud explosions in the area, "which is not unusual for a person who is planning something to test something out, to test-fire a gun, to see if an explosive or a fuse or something else works."

Police have asked that any neighbors who heard similar noises contact their tip line at (206) 233-5000. Anonymous tips can be left at 1-800-222-TIPS.

"It is important, though, that the individuals out there do call the tip line which we still have fully staffed to ensure that if you've ever seen this person, heard of him, met him or are associated with him, that you let us know," Pugel said.

Monfort hasn't spent jail or prison time in Washington, and court records show traffic infractions are the only marks on his state record.

Monfort's first Washington state court record is a ticket for a defective turn signal in 2007. The second, earlier this year, is for speeding at least 15 miles per hour over the limit. Both were in Snohomish County.

Monfort was cited by Seattle police last month for driving a motor vehicle without insurance.

The charge was filed Oct. 16 and Monfort contested the $513 fine -- a $550 obligation overall -- according to court records. A court conference was scheduled for Nov. 30. The notice was mailed to Monfort's Tukwila apartment.

A copy of the citation was not available Saturday, but Pugel said he was not aware of Brenton and Sweeney being involved with the ticket.

Pugel said Saturday morning that police personnel were still checking to see if Monfort had ever tried to join the Seattle Police Department.

Studied 'jury nullification'

Monfort had studied the controversial issue of "jury nullification," in which jurors vote to acquit suspects even if they believe them to be guilty because they feel the law they're accused of breaking is immoral or unfairly applied.

As a McNair Scholar, he presented a project called, "The Power of Citizenship Your Government Doesn't Want You to Know About: How to Change the Inequity of the Criminal Justice System Immediately, Through Active Citizen Nullification of Laws, As a Juror."

He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in law, societies and justice, according to the University of Washington's degree-validation Web site.

Previously, Monfort studied in the administration of justice program at Highline Community College about five years ago, said Garry Wegner, his academic adviser and the Highline program coordinator.

Though students in that program tend to be interested in working as police officers or in corrections, Wegner said Monfort wasn't interested at that point in being a cop.

Wegner said the man told him he "wanted to make a difference" in society, and Wegner suggested he go to law school. On a Web site, Monfort described Wegner as his inspiration to enter a program at the University of Washington.

Older than the typical students in Wegner's program, "he was a mature, stable, fun guy to be around," said Wegner. "Very pleasant."

"He was very smart. Put a lot of attention into his work. Good academically. He seemed like a natural leader," Wegner said.

"He would check in with me from time to time to tell me how he was doing," Wegner said. "The last time I talked to him was four or five months ago. He indicated he wanted to be (study) history, with an emphasis in constitutional law. I told him I thought that would be a good thing for him to do."

Monfort's mother, who lives in Alaska, did not return messages for comment.

Officers were serving additional warrants at the apartment complex Saturday.

The father of Tim Brenton told KCPQ/13 he'd like to have five minutes with the man who killed his 39-year-old son in cold blood.

Brenton met his wife, Lisa, in Spokane, and after graduating from Spokane Community College, he started his career in law enforcement. He worked in Hoquiam and La Conner before joining the Seattle department, following in his father's path.

Friends recalled Brenton, who is also survived by an 11-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, as a humble, dedicated man who wanted to be a police officer from the time he was old enough to play cops and robbers.

"The day I pinned his badge on him in the academy," his father told KCPQ/13, "is probably the proudest day that I've probably ever had."

Hearst Newspapers investigative reporter Eric Nalder, and seattlepi.com staff members Chris Grygiel, Michelle Nicolosi and Levi Pulkkinen contributed to this report. Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com. Follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/mcnerthney.

Alleged home invasion leaves Seattle man with broken neck

2009-11-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Three Kent residents -- including two juveniles -- have been charged with burglary and robbery on allegations they beat a Seattle man in his home on Halloween.

Filing charges Wednesday, King County prosecutors allege that Randy Monsegur, 16, was angry with the 63-year-old man's son for speaking to police recently.

Arriving at the man's South Seattle home at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Monsegur allegedly hit the man over the head with a lamp as he answered the door. Prosecutors allege that Monsegur and his partners then ransacked the home, at one point demanding money from the man.

Police allege that Monsegur later admitted to beating the man with a board as he lay prone on the floor of his home. Officers later recovered items taken from the man's home at Monsegur's residence.

Michael D. Jones, 34, accused of driving Monsegur and Shytwan Manor, 17, to the home, allegedly later told police Monsegur and Manor returned to his truck "laughing about beating the old man."

The man's injuries were not discovered until his son returned to the South Creston Street home the following morning. He was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, where he was treated for a broken neck, broken ribs and head trauma.

Like Monsegur, Jones and Manor have been charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary in King County Superior Court. Though the two teens are juveniles, they have been charged in adult court due to the violent nature of the alleged offenses.

Requesting that all three defendants be held on $200,000 bail, Deputy Prosecutor Dana Cashman told the court all three charged went to the man's home intent on committing the crime.

"The victim is 63 years old and was seriously injured in this attack," Cashman said in court documents. "This was an unprovoked attack on an elderly man in his own home."

All three remain in custody. They are scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 16 in King County Superior Court.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.

Jailhouse phone calls played for jury in Haq case

2009-11-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

Defense contends claims are evidence of ill mind

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Naveed Haq was, by his own admission, in a very good mood in the weeks after the killing.

On suicide watch in King County Jail in the days following the July 28, 2006, shooting spree, Haq had gunned down Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle worker Pam Waechter and seriously injured five other women after opening fire in the Belltown center.

Calling his parents' Pasco home over a monitored jail phone, Haq in essence bragged about the shooting and told his mother and a family friend that he was a "jihadi" and hoped to become a martyr. Told to pray for forgiveness, Haq is heard saying he felt he needed none on recordings of the jail phone calls played for a King County jury hearing the case against him.

"They deserved it," Haq told his mother. "She was an Israeli collaborator."

Hearing her son's hateful words, Haq's mother defended Waechter -- "She was a good woman," Nahida Haq told her son, describing a woman she only began to know in death -- and urged the mentally ill man to ignore the voices that had troubled his mind since his youth.

"Remember the voices in your head, you just have to neglect them," Nahida Haq told her son. "Those are not true things. Those are evil thinking."

Prosecutors leveling the aggravated murder case against Haq played the tapes for the jury Wednesday. The recordings mark the most significant addition to the case against the 34-year-old Haq, which was tried in 2008 but ended with the jury unable to reach a verdict.

In court, prosecutors have argued that the recordings show Haq targeted the center to because he was angry at the Jewish people over perceived wrongs done to Muslims in the Middle East. Haq can be heard repeating his claim that he is a jihadist, meaning, in his view, a Muslim holy warrior.

Arguing that the tapes should not be played at trial, Haq's attorneys contended that the recordings show little except the outlandish claims produced by an ill mind. They asserted that Haq has not repeated his claims of jihad since jail staff put him back on lithium, an anti-psychotic drug they argue had allowed Haq to manage his mental illness for years until his medication was changed months before the shooting.

That division in opinion -- whether Haq's actions at the center were driven by hate or mental illness, with which Haq has been repeatedly diagnosed -- remains the core issue on trial. If convicted on the most serious count against him, aggravated murder, Haq faces a mandatory life sentence; his attorneys contend that a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict would keep Haq confined at an institution for the rest of his life.

On tapes recorded days after the shooting, Haq can be heard bragging about the killing to a family friend, who did not share his apparent glee.

Asked if he was feeling better, Haq said he couldn't possibly be.

"I'm not better, I'm feeling great," Haq said. "I just want to tell you the reason I did it is because I wanted to be a martyr. That's the reason I did it." "You need to do a lot of praying on a lot of things," the woman responded, "because Allah doesn't tell you anywhere in the Koran that you need to kill people to go to heaven.

"You're not a jihadi. I saw you two months ago with a cross on your chest. I know you're not a jihadi. I know you're someone who is not mentally stable."

Haq had converted to Christianity some time in the year before the shooting, according to court records, but had returned to his parents' Muslim faith.

The trial is expected to continue through late November. Haq remains confined at King County Jail; in addition to aggravated first-degree murder, he has been charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder, unlawful imprisonment and malicious harassment, the state's hate crime statute.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.

Man shot by police a veteran

2009-11-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

The father of a 26-year-old Lake Stevens man who was fatally shot by police on Sunday, says his son returned from three deployments in Iraq an angry man.

By Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporter

When John LaBossiere returned from his third tour in Iraq this summer, he was an angry man, according to his father.

"I'm not saying that all of his issues were war-related," Phil LaBossiere said on Tuesday. "But it seems to me that the service just used him and spit him out."

John LaBossiere, 26, was fatally shot by a Lake Stevens police officer on Sunday after he reportedly forced his way into a home where his wife and three children were staying with friends. Investigators found one handgun near him and another on his body, according to Sgt. Robert Goetz, a spokesman for the Snohomish County Multi-Agency Response Team (SMART), which is investigating the shooting.

According to Goetz, officers were called to a "domestic disturbance" that involved a weapon at about 8 p.m. in the 10400 block of 25th Street Southeast near Lake Stevens in unincorporated Snohomish County. Two Lake Stevens officers arrived and almost immediately got into an "altercation" with LaBossiere that ended in LaBossiere's death, Goetz said.

The 23-year-old Lake Stevens officer who shot LaBossiere has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the results of the shooting investigation by SMART, Goetz said.

Police did not release further information about the shooting on Tuesday, and LaBossiere's name was not released by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office pending identification.

Phil LaBossiere, however, confirmed his son's death.

He said he believes his son was "confused and upset" by his return to the civilian world and a deteriorating marriage.

John LaBossiere grew up in Lake Stevens and, as a child, loved camping, fishing and playing soccer, according to his father. He graduated from Lake Stevens High School in 2001, just months before the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. Motivated to serve his country, LaBossiere enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Over the next four years, he married and was twice deployed to Iraq.

After receiving an honorable discharge in 2006, he returned with his wife to Snohomish County, where they lived in his parents' rental house in Everett.

He then joined the Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq for a third time.

By the time he returned in August, it was obvious that something was wrong, his father said.

John LaBossiere had "turned into" someone his family hardly recognized, his father said.

He seemed to have lost some of his skills for coping with the nonmilitary world and had a distinct preference for being armed at all times, his father said.

"We begged him to get help, but the only person who could have made him get help is his commander," Phil LaBossiere said.

Phil LaBossiere said the military needs to do a better job of helping returning service members adjust to civilian life.

"If there's an inkling, even a tiny inkling of traumatic stress or anger problems, the service needs to pursue treatment fully before they let them back into society," Phil LaBossiere said.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com

Police reviewing video in officer shooting case

2009-11-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Investigators are reviewing several hours of in-car video, trying to find a suspect in the fatal Halloween shooting of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton and wounding of of his partner.

Police were looking for vehicles similar to the vague description of the car used in the Saturday night shooting -- a beige, white or possibly silver two-door car that fled on 29th Avenue.

But Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said late Monday night police had not identified a suspect or a specific vehicle.

"Right now, we're tracking down a number of leads," he said.

Police said they haven't determined how many people were in the suspect car. They also did not disclose information about the weapon used or rounds fired.

Whitcomb also asked the public to continue providing tips. The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter was increased to $85,000 Tuesday.

Police believe the suspect car initially fled in reverse, possibly because the suspect may have known patrol cars have front-end cameras. Officers have said the assassination was a deliberate attack that appeared to target Brenton and his partner, Officer Britt Sweeney, at random.

Sweeney returned fire, but investigators are unclear if the suspect or suspect vehicle was struck.

Seattle police received information from a Southern California police agency about a possible gang-related officer shooting there.

But that information is general in nature, Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said.

"There's absolutely no connection [to the Seattle shooting] that we can tell with any other police department, but we do benefit greatly and allow the investigation to mature by getting all this information," Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said Tuesday afternoon.

"And most likely it also allows us to exclude that information."

Pugel, who responded to the Saturday shooting scene near East Yesler Way and 29th Avenue, read reporters a handwritten letter from one of Brenton's family members.

"Even with the tragic loss, Tim's wife and children are finding solace in the support from the police community, their friends and family and the community as a whole," the letter said. "We know that Tim would be honored and humbled by the limitless support that has been provided at the difficult time."

Click here to hear audio of Pugel reading the letter.

Clear Channel donated digital billboard space in Kent, providing tip lines and a bold message to help solve Brenton's murder. Pugel said the company had space available there, but specified officers are not targeting leads in Kent.

Pugel said Tuesday officers were still investigating the Oct. 22 arson of four police vehicles at a city lot, but had not linked that unsolved incident to the officer shootings.

"It would be reckless for us not to look at what happened on Oct. 22, but at the same time we don't know if it is connected," he said. "So that's why were considering that as well as many others."

Specific threats for future attacks on officers were not left at the fire scene, police said.

Rounds fired from Sweeney's service weapon have been recovered, and she is working with investigators.

"I believe strongly we're going to get them," he said of a shooting suspect or suspects.

Anonymous tipsters may be left for CrimeStoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com. Follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/mcnerthney.

Crooks posing as cops rape fast-food worker

2009-11-03T08:41:00.000-08:00

KOMO-TV

TACOMA. -- Crooks who have masqueraded as police officers and kidnapped and robbed fast-food restaurant managers in the past month struck again Sunday, but this time, police say they've elevated their crimes to rape.

A Lakewood Wendy's Restaurant employee was on her way home from work around 2:20 a.m. Sunday when she was pulled over by a vehicle with red-and-blue flashing lights, said Lauren Wallin with the Pierce County Sheriff's Office's CrimeStoppers program.

Two armed robbers handcuffed her boyfriend and placed him in the trunk of his car, then demanded her keys to the restaurant.

The woman didn't have keys to the restaurant, and after realizing this, the robbers took the victim into a fenced, wooded area in the 1900 block of East 56th Street in Tacoma and raped her, Wallin said.

The rape victim, whom KOMO News has chosen not to identify, said the thieves then "told me if I say anything, they are going to hurt me and my family."

"And that's scary. They know where I work, they know where I live," she said. "Just scared to know that there are people like this out there. I didn't do anything. I don't even know who they are."

The victim said she doesn't understand why the thieves followed her instead of robbing her at work.

"Why would they do that? Why would they go that far? If they really needed money, they could have gotten me right then and there," she said.

But that's not the way these thieves work, according to investigators. Sunday's incident was the fourth time the robbers have struck in a similar manner in the past month.

In all incidents, restaurant managers in Pierce County were pulled over by a vehicle with red-and-blue flashing lights shortly after closing and leaving their restaurant. Two unidentified suspects wearing bandannas over their faces then approached the victims' vehicle, flashed guns and handcuffed the victim.

In the previous three incidents, one of the robbers drove the victim back to the restaurant and forced the victim, at gunpoint, to unlock the doors, open the safe and hand over the cash.

Another robber then picked up the first suspect in a getaway car, detectives believe.

The previous three kidnapping/robberies occurred:

* 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, Burger King on Mountain Highway in Graham.
* 3:15 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, Wendy's on Hosmer Street in Tacoma (attempted robbery)
* 12:40 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5, McDonald's on Steilacoom Boulevard in Lakewood

"The robberies are bad enough. It's scary for everyone involved fortunately they haven't turned deadly," said Tacoma Police Det. Mark Fulghum.

The men have used vehicles described as a dark, newer SUV and an older black Honda with tinted windows, with red-and-blue lights on the dashboard.

During the robberies, the pair have been wearing dark hooded sweatshirts, dark hats, bandannas and gloves, and have been armed with handguns.

The kidnappings and robberies are being investigated by the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, Lakewood Police and Tacoma Police.

A reward of $1,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and charges filed for the robbers in this case. To contact police, call 253- 591-5959. All callers will remain anonymous.

Seattle Police Officer killed October, 31 2009

2009-11-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

Police checking leads in officer's killing

2009-11-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

Student trainee hurt while veteran succumbs in Saturday night shooting

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

All available Seattle police resources are being used to find the person responsible for killing a veteran officer and nearly killing a student trainee as they sat in a parked car Saturday night discussing a traffic stop.

Twenty-four hours after the tragic incident in the city's Leschi neighborhood, a police department spokesman said officers were working several leads but did not have any specific suspects.

Officer Timothy Q. Brenton, 39, died in the passenger seat of his parked patrol car after being struck in the head. Britt Sweeney, 33, the student in the driver's seat, was hit in the back.

Brenton, a Marysville resident, joined the Seattle department in December 2000. Fellow officers said Brenton worked on the East Precinct Anti-Crime Team -- one of the elite units that targets specific criminals -- and was friendly with colleagues.

Several described him as a dedicated officer.

His father had been a Seattle police officer, as had his uncle. Brenton, part of West Seattle High School's class of 1988, had joined the department after working as an officer in La Conner. His brother-in-law works for the Seattle Fire Department.

Assistant Chief Nick Metz, who was with Brenton's family Saturday night, asked that reporters respect the grieving relatives' privacy. Seattlepi.com is not publishing a photo of the officer because one has not been officially released through the family or department.

Interim Chief John Diaz and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels met Saturday night with Sweeney. She had graduated about seven months ago from the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center, a department spokesman said.

"I offered to her our thanks for doing a tough job," Nickels said. "She has faced an officer's worst nightmare just weeks into her police career."

At 10:06 p.m. Saturday night, the pair was on 29th Avenue between East Yesler Way and East Spruce Street, discussing details of an apparently unrelated traffic stop that occurred a short time before, officers said.

Brenton was in the passenger seat when another vehicle -- described as a light-colored small car, possibly a gray or white Toyota -- drove next to them. Police do not know how many people were in the suspect vehicle, but one started shooting through the passenger window of the police car.

There was no warning, officials said.

Sweeney sensed danger and yelled, Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said. She ducked, and a bullet grazed her back. The round tore into her ballistic vest.

Brenton was hit by multiple rounds.

In a haunting radio call, an emotional Sweeney can be heard giving their location and describing Brenton's condition.

The small, light-colored car fled northbound on 29th Avenue. Sweeney exited and returned fire, possibly hitting the car. Police also commended her calls for help and backup:

"Her actions by the homicide unit have been described as that of a 10-year veteran: how well she handled herself, how well she communicated and how well she tried to save officer Brenton's life, as well as take the suspect into custody."

Nickels called it a cold-blooded shooting -- a brutal, senseless act that put the city in shock.

"Let me be very clear," he said, "we will not rest until the assailant is brought to justice."

He ordered flags in Seattle flown at half staff until after Brenton's funeral.

At about 2:45 a.m. Sunday, a Medic One unit carrying Brenton turned from Martin Luther King Jr. Way onto East Yesler Way. A procession of 31 law enforcement and Seattle Fire Department vehicles with lights on followed the unit carrying him to Harborview Medical Center.

Sunday afternoon, another police procession followed his body to Bonney-Watson Funeral Home on Capitol Hill. A memorial service is pending.

Dozens of people brought flowers to a memorial on 29th Avenue, where Brenton was killed. See images of the scene here.

"Through the years, I've seen too many of our fellow officers buried," said an emotional Diaz, who had spent time with Brenton's mother, brother and sister. "Some are close friends and it never gets any easier."

The first priority of the department is taking care of Brenton's family, Diaz said, and "all resources will be used no matter what it takes to make sure we bring this person or these people to justice." Fellow officers stayed with Sweeney on Sunday.

Diaz said the case would be solved by the work of Seattle officers and partnering law enforcement agencies, science, "and most importantly, community."

Police had some indications that a person of interest arrested Saturday night for investigation of obstruction may not be connected to the fatal shooting, Pugel said.

The case was rapidly evolving, and several neighbors had come forward with information, he said. But police still need more.

People with any information about the case or possible suspects were asked to call a Seattle tip line: (206) 233-5000. Tips could also be made anonymously to Crime Stoppers at (206) 343-2020, or through a text message by texting TIP486 with a message, then sending that to 274637 (CRIMES).

The Seattle Police Officers Guild and Crime Stoppers are offering a $21,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter.

Following the fatal incident Saturday, some police were told of a man in his mid-20s who had been booked into King County Jail for investigation of threats. He was released on bail about 6:45 p.m. Saturday, according to jail records. That man was arrested again and booked into jail Sunday morning for investigation of obstruction.

Police would not confirm if a rifle was used by the shooter, who shot through a passenger window while facing the same direction as the officers' patrol car.

There had been no threats against Brenton, according to Pugel. It appeared Brenton and Sweeney were targeted only because they were police officers, he said, "and it's quite frankly a miracle that she's alive."

Metz -- who had worked with Antonio Terry, the last Seattle officer shot to death, in 1994 -- said he was struck by his officer's dedication when driving home about 5 a.m. Sunday.

Unlike some businesses that can shut down when a tragedy occurs, Metz said he heard Seattle police responding to fight disturbances and traffic stops on a typically busy Halloween night without having a long period to grieve or even process what had happened to their comrades.

"They continued to do the work that they do and they continue to give 110 percent to this community," he said. "And I just want the citizens of this city to know that they have the best police department in the nation, the finest officers that are out there.

"And despite what happens they're going to continue to deliver the best service possible."
Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com.

Couple's day of joy ruined by thief

2009-11-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

By DENISE WHITAKER
KOMO-TV STAFF

A couple's day of joy -- the birth of their baby -- was spoiled by a thief who broke into their truck while they were inside the hospital welcoming their son into the world.

And now the couple explains that they have to deal with a lot more than just a break-in.

Oct. 21 dawned as a wonderful day for Justin and Kayleena Bushnell, as their son Brian was born at Tacoma General Hospital.

"Delivery went good, long labor," Justin says.

After Brian was born, Justin went out to the parking deck to bring some things in from their truck. He could hardly believe what he saw.

"Took me a while to figure out what was going on," he says. "You know, I was kind of shocked that everything was gone."

"All her clothes were gone, and some of my clothes were gone," he says.

Kayleena adds, "Diaper bag with all of his stuff (was stolen). I had a breast pump given to me by a family member."

Kayleena and Justin had packed ahead to be away from home for a month -- including clothing and toys for baby Brian -- because doctors already knew baby Brian had health problems.

Kayleena explains, "He has an underdeveloped left ventricle in his heart."

Doctors say Brian needs at least three heart surgeries.

"I was pretty angry, you know," Justin says. "You know, obviously you're not at a hospital for any good reasons."

And just when Brian thought it couldn't get any worse, he made another discovery.

"Realized that some of my pay stubs with my social security number and stuff were missing," he says.

So while his son lay in intensive care, Justin said he spent an entire day making phone calls to try to protect his identity.

"I feel violated," he says.

Co-workers and family members immediately pitched in to replace some of what the couple lost.

"Just kind of wrong timing," Kayleena says.

Despite all they've been through, Kayleena and Justin keep a positive attitude as they stay at their son's side through surgery.

Later this week, baby Brian is headed into surgery at Seattle Children's Hospital.

Bellevue predator who pretended to be cop sentenced to nine years to life

2009-11-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

SeattlePI.com staff

A Bellevue man who pretended to be a police officer to persuade one teenage girl to have sex with him and before he raped a second was sentenced to more than 9 years to life in prison on Friday.

Sasidhar Vanapalli pleaded guilty in September to charges of charges of second-degree rape, first-degree criminal impersonation of a police officer and first-degree extortion.

Vanapalli, who was a Microsoft employee, received an indeterminate sentence in King County Superior Court as a sexual predator, which would keep him confined for life unless state evaluators deem him fit for release after he serves 112 months.

Prosecutors say in one case an 18-year-old woman knew what she was getting into when she stepped into Vanapalli's Bellevue apartment.

Speaking to detectives later, the teen said Vanapalli was going to be her first trick, according to court documents. She'd posted her first escort ad on Craigslist two days before the Oct. 3 assault. She'd heard from a friend she'd make money, $225 an hour.

Instead of a wallet, prosecutors contended, Vanapalli produced a badge and offered a threat -- she'd have sex with him or he'd ruin her heretofore clean criminal record. He went on to claim he could keep her out of jail if she made it "a regular thing."

"She was nervous, embarrassed and she was desperate not to be arrested," Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sean O'Donnell said in court documents. "The defendant continued to warn (the teen) about being arrested if she did not have sex."

For that assault and the rape of another 18-year-old prostitute days later, Vanapalli pleaded guilty in September after a jury had been empanelled against him in King County Superior Court.

Prosecutors had been prepared to argue that, in each October sexual assault, Vanapalli had played the part of a police officer looking for free sex. In each case, O'Donnell argued, the Microsoft employee threatened the teens in an attempt to coerce them.

Unlike the Oct. 3, 2008, incident, though, prosecutors had contended Vanapalli forcibly raped a teen he'd hired on Craigslist.

The young woman told officers she arrived at a Redmond apartment -- investigators later determined Vanapalli had borrowed it from a coworker -- on Oct. 17, 2008, to find the 28-year-old waiting expectantly for her. Rather than pay, Vanapalli again produced a metal badge marked "special police" and demanded sex under threat of arrest.

Vanapalli then drew a pistol, a replica Beretta handgun, and threatened the young woman. Prosecutors contended Vanapalli raped the woman before hustling her out of the apartment.

According to court filings, Vanapalli's attorneys had been preparing to argue that both women were angry with him for refusing to pay. The earlier incident, they claim in court documents, could have been presented as sexual role-playing gone wrong.

Before his entering a guilty plea, Vanapalli's attorneys had argued that he be tried separately in each case. O'Donnell argued, persuasively, that each case showed Vanapalli's modus operandi.

"The defendant's common scheme or plan was quite simple," the prosecutor told the court, "pretend to be a cop so he could rape young women engaged in prostitution." Detectives in Redmond and Bellevue were able to link the cell phone number Vanapalli had given the teens to Microsoft, where company security pointed them to Vanapalli.

Searching Vanapalli's apartment, detectives located a fake badge, a fake gun and a pair of real handcuffs. Similar items were found at Vanapalli's workstation at Microsoft. Officers also found a cheetah print men's thong, which matched the second victim's description of her attacker's underwear.

Man sentenced to 9 months in prison for shooting car prowler

2009-11-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

SeattlePI.com staff

A Seattle man who shot a car prowler in the back of the head and killed him was sentenced to 9 months in jail on Friday.

The sentence and an earlier guilty plea were part of a deal reached with prosecutors.

Filing a second-degree manslaughter charge in September, King County prosecutors alleged that Douglas Cameron Sheets acted with criminal negligence when he shot Jhovany Hernandez outside his Northgate home. According to court filings, police came to believe that Sheets shot Hernandez as the 21-year-old fled.

Sheets was arraigned Oct. 2y, then pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter. Since he had no other criminal record, he could have faced a sentence of 21 to 27 months.

But prosecutors recommended just nine months, pointing to a mitigating factor listed in sentencing laws. That factor is invoked when the victim instigated the incident as Hernandez did during the car prowl.

Sheets is eligible to serve work release instead of jail time, Prosecutor's Office spokesman Dan Donohoe said.

Describing the Sept. 24, 2008, shooting, Seattle police Detective James Cooper said in statements to the court that incident began when Sheets heard several men breaking into his car.

From the balcony of his apartment in the 9700 block of Fifth Avenue Northeast, Sheets saw an unfamiliar car idling near the parking stall underneath the balcony where his Toyota Camry was parked. Three other men, Cooper said, were breaking into the vehicle.

Sheets returned to the balcony with a Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifle, Cooper said, prompting the men in the car to flee as two of the apparent car prowlers, including Hernandez, remained near the apartment. Trying to get to the prowlers' car, Hernandez ran carrying a 27-pound subwoofer taken from Sheets' car.

Cooper said that Sheets told officers Hernandez turned and reached for the waistband of his pants before the shooting. Sheets took aim and fired, striking Hernandez in the back of the head.

Sheets then rushed out of his apartment, Cooper said, checking Hernandez for a pulse and found the man dead. Police later determined that Hernandez was unarmed at the time of the shooting.

Speaking to officers after being taken into custody, Sheets allegedly told investigators he had not intended to kill Hernandez.

"When the defendant told them to freeze, the defendant claimed the last guy turned around holding the subwoofer up by his head with one hand," Cooper said in court documents. "The defendant said (Hernandez), with his free hand, then started reaching for his waistband."

Sheets, the detective added, "said he wasn't going to take any chances, he 'freaked the (expletive) out,' and he fired."

During an autopsy, staff with the King County Medical Examiner's Office found Hernandez had been killed by the single gunshot to the back of his head.

Beacon Hill teen tells of selling her body on Seattle streets

2009-10-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

Testifying against accused pimp, the young woman described how young love turned into prostitution

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

The proposition came over ice cream, the young woman told the King County jury.

She said her boyfriend of three weeks, admitted West Seattle gang member Mycah Johnson, offered it gently -- would she make money for him selling her body?

"He said he'd buy me a sundae if I would answer a question for him," the 19-year-old told jurors. "He said, and these are his words, 'Would you make money doing what you like to do anyway?'

"Just give it a try and see if you like it."

Testifying Thursday against accused pimp and alleged West Side Street Mobb member Deshawn Cash Money Clark, the young woman explained her months-long relationship with Johnson in an attempt by prosecutors to show jurors the mix of young love and cruelty that lands girls on Seattle streets selling sex.

Charged alongside four other members of the West Seattle-based gang, Clark, 19, is currently on trial in King County Superior Court on accusations that he profited from a human trafficking and child prostitution scheme involving at least three women. Johnson, the young woman's former pimp, previously pleaded guilty to related charges, as have the all those similarly charged except Clark.

Addressing the jury, the young woman described in detail how Johnson approached her at a downtown Seattle bus stop and, she said, set her on a path to make her boyfriend hundreds of dollars a night prostituting herself. Her account mirrored the tales of manipulation and greed offered by Johnson and the other young men after each pleaded guilty.

By her telling, Johnson, now 19, was a flirt when he asked for her number during a chance run in at a Third Avenue bus stop across from the downtown Seattle Macy's. He asked for her number and got it; he called and she answered.

She told him about her ex, who, she said, left her after she said she wouldn't hook for him. She said she didn't do that kind of thing, at least not until Johnson asked.

"He played on everything that I went through," the young woman said, responding to questions from Deputy Prosecutor Christina Miysmasu. "He made me promises that were backed up by promises. I should have known better, because I guess promises are made to be broken. …

"If I'd said no, he would have left me."

Hours after Johnson popped the question, the young woman -- then 18 -- said she was out at "the fashion show," her term for a stretch of sidewalk off of Denny Way near Seattle Center.

Accompanying her and Johnson, she told jurors, was Clark and a teen prostitute who has also testified in the case. Johnson gave her instructions -- don't talk to men or "ho-cialize" with other prostitutes, get in as many cars as you can.

Her first "john" was a middle-age man with a thick black mustache and lots of stubble, she told the jury. She said she climbed into his van, had sex with him and was paid $85 for her trouble.

"I was panicked to see the guy sitting there," she said. "I know what he wanted and I was still scared. I remembered the TV shows where a girl gets into a car … and you could just die."

The money, like the thousands of dollars that would come later, went straight to Johnson.

That was another rule, she told the jury. You don't keep the money.

In the days that followed, the young woman said she moved in with Johnson. They, in turn, moved into a West Seattle home owned by Clark's mother, Glenda Thomas. Thomas has also been charged with witness tampering in the case, on accusations that the 40-year-old threatened or coerced three witnesses in the case against her son.

The young woman said she began dodging her mother's phone calls as she continued to work the streets with prostitutes being pimped by Clark. Johnson, or his associates, set her up with Web advertisements and hotel rooms, and she continued to "walk the track" in Seattle and Tukwila.

Johnson, she said, had a "man crush" on Clark. Johnson would dress like his childhood friend, at least once donning a nearly identical outfit to Clark's that went well beyond the red clothing required to signify membership in the West Side Street Mobb.

While working for Johnson, the young woman told jurors, she often saw Clark's girls bruised from beatings she believed Clark had delivered. She said she never saw the blows fall, though she once heard what could only be an altercation in Clark's hotel room while staying with Johnson in a room down the hall.

Cross examined by Clark's defense attorney, Alfoster Garrett, Jr., the woman declined to say whether she'd engaged in other activities West Side Street Mobb members allegedly use to make money, specifically bank fraud and drug dealing.

She did, in answering Garrett's questions, say she'd seen at least one woman Clark is accused of prostituting hand him money immediately after turning a trick.

Asked by Garrett whether Johnson ever beat her, the young woman said he had not. He berated her when she didn't make enough money, she said, but sometimes apologized and thanked her for doing her best.

"So he had a heart, gangster with a heart?" Garrett asked.

"I guess you could say that," the young woman said.

But Johnson's statement to the court upon entering a guilty plea throws that assertion into contention.

As did the other accused pimps, Johnson issued a mea culpa along with a guilty plea. In his, Johnson described manipulating the young woman into prostitution weeks after they met.

"I told (her) she and I could have a life together but that she needed to 'work' to make us money," Johnson told the court. "(She) loved me and she agreed to be a prostitute."

Clark and the others in the gang, Johnson said, were up to the same thing, though Clark "used force and threats as a means to coerce the girls and keep them obedient and under his control."

Some of those girls and young women, prosecutors contend, were marked with tattoos carrying Clark's middle name -- Cash -- or dollar signs.

Taking Garrett's questions Thursday, the young woman acknowledged that, at the time, she worked for Johnson out what she thought to be love.

"To me," she said, "that connection between a pimp and a prostitute was like, you do anything for the person you love."

She said she plans to return to the Philippines and start again in the country she left as a young child.

Johnson was sentenced to a 21-month prison term, following his plea to one count of promoting prostitution. Clark, whose trial is expected to stretch late into November, remains in King County Jail pending the case's resolution.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.

Pioneer Square policeman named officer of the year

2009-10-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Late Monday night, police got a call about a group of women fighting in the International District. One was armed with an umbrella.

Officer Chris Myers pulled his car behind them, then got in amongst the angry group. When one woman who had been ordered to leave slowly walked back for more, he charged up the street.

"What did I tell you?" he asked, calm but assertive. The woman turned and walked away.

Standing well over 6 feet, Myers appeared anything but shy in that case, or in another incident later that night involving a man suspected of assaulting a Uwajimaya store employee.

Fellow officers and business owners who know Myers from working nights in Pioneer Square have dozens of stories about what they say is his tireless energy and superior tactical intelligence.

Some shared those tales in support of his Officer of the Year nomination. Friday night at the Sheraton Hotel, Myers will receive that honor at the eighth annual awards banquet, sponsored by the Seattle Police Foundation.

Thing is, as a high school kid he didn't always picture himself being that well-respected cop.

"I was painfully shy," he said.

That lasted into college -- Evergreen State -- where things started to change when Myers took a course called the stage fright workshop. After graduation, he expected to be an art teacher.

Myers, passionate about police training, still uses the skills he developed to be a high school teacher. It's a big part of what earned him the top officer award.

"He cares about the people in the neighborhood and takes the time to get to know them, talk with them, and listens well to what they have to say," managers of the Last Supper Club wrote in a nomination letter.

They talked of his "unbelievable degree of patience," and said he often talks people into doing the right thing.

That communication is key, said Myers, 42.

"You start off polite and ask them to behave. Then you tell them to behave. And then you make them behave."

Early teaching inspiration

Myers' first class with Glenn Greer was more than two decades ago at Juanita High School, though that teacher's courses still stand out more than others.

"He provided enough individual challenge that I looked forward to the class," he said of an initial photography course. Greer encouraged peer teaching, having kids develop their skills by showing others. He'd step in later if some lesson elements were missed.

"He showed not all learning is about sitting in a chair, passively absorbing information being thrown at you from the front of the room," Myers said.

One of his assignments was to help a girl load film onto a reel for developing. She'd tried dozens of times and wasn't close.

He coached her through loading the plastic reel in the light until she was confident. Then she tried it in the dark, and Myers still remembers the excitement from her success.

"That was the first taste of it," he said. "I thought, 'I could do this for a while.'"

So he enrolled in courses to teach art. After graduating in the late 1980s, Myers sent applications to four or five school districts. He decided to also put in an application to be a police officer, as his dad had been for years in Seattle.

In January 1990, he started with the Seattle department.

"I don't sit behind a desk well, knowing what I'll be doing day after day," he said, patrolling Fifth Avenue South. "Out here, I don't know what kind of call we'll get five minutes from now."

Passion for patrol

In his July nomination letter, Myers' sergeant, Colin Hotnit, told of when Myers was one of the first responding officers to a sexual assault in progress.

"Officer Myers coordinated the efforts of the officers at the scene and created an arrest scenario that minimized the chance the suspect would attempt to flee or resist arrest," Hotnit wrote.

When the Pyramid Alehouse was burglarized June 11, Myers was again one of the first on scene. Hotnit commended his building search plan, coordinating a dozen officers in two teams in addition to organizing a police perimeter.

Five suspects were taken into custody without incident.

Earlier this year after a Subway employee was assaulted in a strong-arm robbery near Yesler Way and First Avenue, Myers linked the suspect to an unrelated shoplifting call and arrested him in connection with both cases.

Some officers become savvier with time but lose the sheer excitement of going from 911 call to 911 call, said Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, who oversaw Myers in Pioneer Square last year.

"Chris was a really good example of balancing those two," he said. "And he was not one that hoarded his info or experience."

A 'significant benefit'

Myers' skills were put to use after the shootings at Columbine High School, when he wrote scenarios for rapid intervention training -- a department term for a kind of police response. The training was done inside the former seminary at St. Edward State Park.

After the WTO protests, Myers became more involved with less-lethal force options and worked with other officers to create a series of presentations that have been recognized by the National Institutes of Justice.

He shared those skills with officers in Oregon last February and officers in Texas last April. Myers, who also won the 2005 Medal of Valor, has been recognized as an expert witness at both the state and federal levels for less-lethal options.

He's also one of the originators of the Patrol Chemical Agent Response Team and helped develop the patrol team tactics curriculum.

His work "is clearly of significant benefit to our agency," Hotnit wrote.

Working with him in the West Precinct "was like having a second sergeant," colleague Eric Chartrand said.

"There are a lot of personalities and a lot of egos in police work, and it's not the easiest thing in the world to talk to an officer and tell him you think he did something not appropriate or wrong as far as technique," he said. "But Chris has the ability to say, 'Hey, next time you might want to think about doing it this way.'

"It doesn't make the person feel like he's being attacked, and he also learns from it."

MORE AWARD WINNERS: The full list of police award winners will be posted Friday night on the Seattle 911 blog.

Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com. Follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/mcnerthney.

Prosecutors: Couple raped daughter, 4, on live Webcam

2009-10-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

A King County couple has been charged with raping their 4-year-old daughter live on the Internet after a convicted child molester told authorities he'd been exchanging child pornography with them.

King County prosecutors filed charges Wednesday afternoon against Brian Keith Beston, 39, and Hollie Beston, 31, accusing the couple of repeatedly sexually assaulting their child in trade for child pornography.

According to court documents, members of a Seattle police child abuse task force learned of the alleged abuse after a San Diego, Calif., child molester told investigators there that he'd met the Bestons after posting a Craigslist advertisement posing as a single mother.

The offender told federal investigators that Brian Beston, of Kent, responded to his advertisement immediately and shortly thereafter began sending photos of a young girl the offender later learned was the Bestons' daughter, prosecutors allege. The couple went on to set up a live Web camera session during which Beston could be seen sexually assaulting his child.

Notified of the allegations Friday, officers with the Seattle Internet crimes against children unit found the Bestons' homes and took them into custody later that day.

Confronted by officers, Detective Tye Holand said in court documents, Hollie Beston admitted to watching as Brian Beston assaulted the child, and to taking still and video pictures of the assaults. Brian Beston allegedly made a similar admission.

Requesting that both defendants be held on $500,000 bail, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Zachary Wagnild described the assaults to the court as "horrific."

"Although lacking criminal history, both defendants were involved in the repeated rape and sexual abuse of their 4-year-old daughter," Wagnild told the court. "The couple … (entered) into an agreement with an individual in California to send him images of themselves sexually abusing their daughter in return for images of him sexually abusing his own children."

Both defendants have been charged with first-degree child rape, first-degree child molestation, sexual exploitation of a minor and dealing child pornography. They remain jailed and are expected to be arraigned Nov. 10 in King County Superior Court.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.

City targets South Seattle bar for state action

2009-10-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

An assistant Seattle city attorney has told the state Liquor Control Board that Angie's Cocktails in South Seattle "endangers public safety and community welfare," and has asked that the bar's liquor license not be renewed.

South Precinct liaison attorney John McGoodwin, writing on behalf of City Attorney Tom Carr in a Sept. 9 letter, cited a list of police incidents and the alleged failure of the bar owner to address issues there.

The letter, addressed to licensing services director Alan Rathbun, started an investigation involving the control board licensing and enforcement divisions.

Rathbun can ultimately deny license renewal, after which the licensee can request an administrative hearing. The bar's license expires Saturday, according to a liquor control board document.

State Liquor Control Board officers met with Angie's owner, Wong "Andy" Lee, in March, April and June, when he was told of drug dealing that happens at his bar, according to the city attorney's office.

Police and a representative from Carr's office also met with him last December and informed him about concerns for public safety from activities at Angie's. Lee entered into a Good Neighbor Agreement with the city, according to the prosecutor's office.

But city officials said he failed to contact Seattle police about a security training program that was part of that agreement, and they believe staff have not been enrolled.

"Mr. Lee has not abided by the conditions of the GNA: Checking the identification of all individuals purchasing alcohol; and fostering public safety, security and quiet enjoyment in the surrounding neighborhood," McGoodwin wrote to the liquor board.

Reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Lee told seattlepi.com he was working with his lawyer but would not discuss the letter. He did not give his lawyer's name before hanging up.

The attorney believed to be representing him did not immediately return a call or e-mail Wednesday night.

Police said Lee took ownership of Angie's late last year. The letter to the liquor control board also outlined 11 police-related incidents from this year.

The most recent, Aug. 6, details a man who fired shots into the ground near the bar.

On July 2, police said they observed a fight in the bar. One of the women in the fight was 19 and "extremely intoxicated," police said. The woman allegedly said she was not served alcohol at Angie's, but also was not asked for ID.

Click here to download a copy of the incident report, redacted by police.

On April 6, undercover officers reported purchasing crack cocaine from someone who had just walked out of Angie's. Also that night, the undercover officers reported being approached by a man who said he "runs the block" in front of the bar and could "hook them up with some rock cocaine."

He and another person were arrested after police said they returned with crack.

On Feb. 11, police say a prostitute bought crack from someone inside Angie's, then agreed to a sexual act with a man who had given her $18 to buy the crack. Read that report, also obtained by seattlepi.com, here.

A police report from Feb. 2 shows South Precinct officers documenting problem incidents there at McGoodwin's request. In that report, officer Robert Thomas said "over the last few months, myself and other officers have observed a dramatic increase in suspicious activities in and around (Angie's)."

A police report from Jan. 2 -- one not detailed in the letter to the liquor control board -- says a 19-year-old member of the 74 Hoover gang was seen leaving the bar dressed in gang colors. He and two others were stopped in a car nearby, where police found one of the men to have a felony drug warrant, and retrieved a marble-sized crack rock -- about 6 grams - on the driver's side floor, according to the report.

The alleged gang member allegedly admitted to being underage in the bar. The young man arrested for the warrant and suspected drug possession allegedly told police, "My mother smokes crack, what you found in there belongs to her."

Liquor Control Board data shows Angie's did not receive warnings or violation notices from the board between 2004 and 2008.

But police records show the bar -- in a structure built in 1905, two years before that area was incorporated into Seattle -- has had problems for several years.

A Seattle Police public disclosure request shows police responded to at least 15 incidents at the bar in 2008.

On May 21, 2008, police responded to Angie's and found a man shot in the stomach, and several bar patrons trying to covering the wound with paper towels. The gang unit took over the scene, and the man's injuries were not life-threatening.

In September of that year, a gang unit sergeant and detective stopped him behind the establishment and found 3.3 grams of cocaine in his possession, according to a police report.

In April 2008, police said a woman threatened to kill another woman after fighting at Angie's. Police said one woman was hit with a thrown pool ball. One swung a pool stick as a weapon, and the fight allegedly spilled outside.

The letter sent to the Liquor Control Board about Angie's is similar to a letter sent earlier this year about the Rose Garden bar in Lake City.

North Precinct Capt. Mike Washburn, on behalf of former Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, wrote to the Liquor Control Board's Rathbun on March 25, detailing undercover police drug buys and other incidents at that notorious North Seattle bar.

Officers documented 10 assaults there in the first nine months of 2008.

Washburn wrote that renewal of the Rose Garden liquor license would have a continuing "detrimental impact on the health, safety and welfare of the surrounding community" -- part of the same wording used in the Angie's letter.

The bar property was listed for sale the month after the letter was sent and remains on the market.

Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com. Follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/mcnerthney.

Gun-rights supporters sue Seattle over gun ban

2009-10-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

As promised, gun-rights advocates have sued the City of Seattle arguing that a partial ban on concealed weapons violates state law.

In the suit, filed just before noon Wednesday in King County Superior Court in Seattle, supporters object to a prohibition supported by Mayor Greg Nickels that would ban firearms in public spaces. The city effort has continued in the face of a countervailing opinion by the state attorney general, who found that state law prohibits local jurisdictions from regulating firearms beyond the rules set by the Legislature.

Reached for comment Wednesday, Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, said his organization has been joined in the suit by two Department of Corrections officers, two Seattle gay rights activists and a Pike Place Market shop owner.

Gottlieb said they share his concern that the regulation, which went into effect at several locations Oct. 14, will prevent residents and those visiting the city from protecting themselves.

"Aside from the fact that it's preempted by state law, it's also bad, stupid policy," Gottlieb said. "The ideal outcome, which we expect to happen, is that the mayor is going to get slapped by the courts."

Ruth Bowman of the Seattle City Attorney's office, said the city's policy was put in place to protect "our most vulnerable and defenseless citizens, our children.

"The City's most important public duty is to protect its citizens from harm, especially when they are visiting City facilities."

Nickels' spokesman Alex Fryer said the prohibition -- which includes licenced concealed weapons -- is currently in place at 12 Seattle community centers and their associated facilities, bringing the total number of public facilities currently under the ban to 116. The city has previously indicated signs would be in place at all city facilities by Dec. 1; under the regulation, the ban is only enforceable in areas where the prohibition has been noted.

Gottlieb said a formal response from the city is expected in coming weeks. He said the plaintiffs will ask for a preliminary injunction preventing the city from enforcing the regulations until the lawsuit has been concluded.

In addition to the individual plaintiffs and the Second Amendment Foundation, the suit has been joined by the the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Washington Arms Collectors, Inc., and the National Rifle Association.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.

Suspect in Ballard stabbing arrested

2009-10-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

The man suspected of stabbing an employee at the Matador Restaurant in Ballard earlier this month was arrested Tuesday night.

Police said Fredys Alex Oseguera, also known Gabrio Rivera, stabbed a man Oct. 10 at Matador Restaurant in the 2200 block of Northwest Market Street. He was charged this month with second-degree assault.

Members of the North Precinct Anti-Crime team, who had been following leads in the case for days, found Oseguera about 11 p.m..

Staff told police Oseguera was a semi-regular customer, and the night of Oct. 10, he was causing a disturbance while paying a bar tab of more than $100. Oseguera was paying the tab by throwing small bills, authorities said. He was asked to leave.

Oseguera started walking towards the kitchen and again a staff member asked him to leave. Police say Oseguera then pulled out a knife and stabbed the employee once in the lower back, near his kidneys. He then held the knife up and screamed at the man in Spanish, according to officers.

The victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

Oseguera, 28. fled in an Orange Cab - one that captured surveillance photos of him -- but left his cell phone at the bar, authorities said.

His only criminal history in Washington is a DUI from 2001, but Oseguera, a native of Honduras, has a history a second-degree identity theft charge pending in another country, according to court documents. Prosecutors said in charging documents from the Matador incidents he may commit another violent offense.

Detectives said they called Osguera's cell phone after the stabbing, and he allegedly identified himself as Gabrio Rivera. The man explained he had bought a new phone, but kept the old number. Osguera also allegedly admitted to being at the Matador the night of Oct. 10, but denied being involved in a disturbance, according to police.

The address given in that conversation was the one Oseguera, 29, used for getting mail. Police identified an friend through evidence at that location and searched an apartment where Oseguera was believed to have lived after getting a search warrant.

Police found no evidence of the crime at that apartment, according to court documents, but the man whose apartment was searched was with Oseguera at the Matador earlier that night, according to officers.

Shown the photo from the Orange Cab, the man allegedly identified Oseguera as "Gabrio." That friend said he left the bar about 11 p.m., hadn't seen Oseguera since that night and didn't know where he was.
Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com.

Chance of more jail cuts worries police, officials

2009-10-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Earlier this month, due to diminished resources, the state Department of Corrections began sending some felons who violated probation home with an ankle bracelet instead of back to prison.

And since late July, the DOC has ended community supervision of nearly 10,000 offenders deemed low-risk.

"As of a couple weeks ago, we laid off 279 in prisons," DOC Secretary Eldon Vail said of his statewide staff numbers. "I think we've laid off 60-plus in community corrections, but were going to get to about 250 layoffs in community corrections within the next month or so."

Painful spending cuts caused by state budget woes aren't unique to corrections officers. But with the state still facing a $1.7 billion budget hole, officers are worried the cuts could get worse after the Legislature reconvenes in 2010.

"We try to make the best decisions we can to do the least damage to public safety," Vail said. "Absent all of the revenue and resources we'd like to have, we've got to trim around the edges, and hopefully we don't make cuts that are so deep and so big that we do serious damage to public safety."

Tim Welch, spokesman for the state employees' union, was more blunt.

"The cuts in place now," he said, "are a tragedy waiting to happen."

A community corrections officer is what most people know as a parole officer -- people who supervise a caseload of offenders released from jail or prison. Union members are working to reverse or mitigate the cuts to ensure public safety, Welch said, and hope to be spared from a potential 2 percent cut to the overall state budget.

He said there are billions spent for outdated tax loopholes, and eliminating or delaying those would be better than trimming from a corrections staff that's already down to the bone.

Senate Bill 5288 -- the legislation that ended the supervision of thousands of offenders -- also reduced the community-custody terms for higher-risk offenders, such as sexual predators and people convicted of violent crimes.

Vail said he worked with prosecutors and police chiefs to come up with budget reductions that did the least damage to public safety. Chances of people reoffending are highest when they first leave jail, and the likelihood of reoffending decreases the longer they're out, he said.

The DOC still supervises more than 19,000 offenders, including high-risk offenders, sex offenders and low-risk offenders that committed violent crimes, spokesman Chad Lewis said.

Though probation crimes are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, misdemeanor drug possession probably won't result in jail time, but felonies will, he said.

In late August, a joint letter was sent to Gov. Chris Gregoire and Vail asking that four positions in the Northwest Community Response Unit be retained. The CRU that covers the area from the Canadian border to the Pierce County line includes resources from Seattle Police and federal and county agencies.

Northwest CRU members are community-corrections specialists -- patrol or parole officers with specialized police training -- who work in the field.

"The cuts would adversely impact our region's ability to capture wanted felons, to monitor offenders in our communities on DOC-supervised release, and to provide hands-on personal assistance to DOC-supervised individuals who require housing, detoxification services, medical care, social services, and crisis intervention and support in order to stay out of trouble and risk reoffending," the letter stated.

Seattle City Council members, five area mayors, five county sheriffs, interim Seattle police Chief John Diaz and the Western District U.S. marshal were among those who signed the letter.

The positions were still eliminated. But Gregoire reinstated one -- the job created after King County Deputy Steve Cox was killed in White Center.

The three positions that were eliminated -- leaving the unit with 10 people -- didn't seem disproportionate for a program that has 32 positions statewide, Vail said. He called Gregoire's commitment to public safety "unwavering," and noted the DOC's budget reductions were smaller than other state agencies'.

"I don't think that the changes we've made so far are startling enough that people should be alarmed," he said. "I am pretty concerned about, if there is another round of reductions that we can't yet articulate or identify, because we are really down now to supervising -- particularly in community corrections -- the highest-risk offenders.

"I don't know who else to get rid of."
Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com. Follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/mcnerthney.

Bad Botox trial underway as Bellevue salon owner faces judge

2009-10-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Eighteen months have passed since the woman received the wrinkle-fighting injection that set her face aflame.

Her plastic surgeon, brought in to clean up the mess allegedly created by a Bellevue salon owner, said he is hopeful that the damage can be repaired. He's removed the quarter-size brown lumps that had formed around the woman's eyes following the injection, and continues to hunt new nodules during her regular visits every three weeks.

"We have a ways to go yet," Dr. Richard Baxter told U.S. District Court Judge Marsha J. Pechman, testifying Tuesday in the criminal trial of beautician Xin "Faith" He. "Once we're sure that the nodules are gone and are not growing back we're going to look into some other procedures."

Federal prosecutors in Seattle filed charges against He in August, asserting that, despite action by the state Department of Health, she continued to illegally inject customers with cosmetic medicines she'd obtained from China. A bench trial is currently underway in which Pechman will decide whether He possessed or sold counterfeit prescription drugs.

Prosecutors contend that, even on the eve of trial, He continues to sell her services. As recently as Oct. 9, prosecutors claim, her advertisements were found in a Seattle-area newspaper.

State health officials first took action against He following a 2004 incident in which He injected a woman with a drug she purported to be Restylane, a trademarked anti-wrinkle drug produced in Sweden.

That injection left the customer with a hard, red knot on her forehead, Dr. Julie Voss testified Tuesday. Voss, who treated the woman following the inflammation, reported He to the state Department of Health.

"I was afraid that someone who didn't know what they were doing was injecting something harmful into people," Voss told the judge.

Contacted by an undercover heath investigator, He offered to give her a Botox injection for $500, prosecutors claim. Investigators later seized several vials bearing the word Botox but otherwise covered only with Chinese characters.

Confronted by investigators, He, who held a certificate in cosmetics from Bellevue Beauty School, allegedly said she had been taught to give the injections during a 2004 visit to China. She ultimately signed a cease and desist agreement in 2006.

But He was still injecting patients two years later, prosecutors contend. Even weeks before the current trial, He was allegedly advertising her services in a Vietnamese language newspaper circulated in Seattle.

In a response to the court, He's attorney argued that He did not knowingly offer counterfeit drugs to the women. He, the attorney argued, did not have the required knowledge of the drugs to realize they were fakes.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Warma disputed that contention in court documents. He, Warma said, "lied when she deliberately and callously exposed women whose trust she had gained to the unknown and unknowable dangers posed by counterfeit drugs."

He's trial is expected to continue through Wednesday and will likely conclude this week. She faces a three-year prison term if convicted as charged.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.