Local News

A man accused of beating 16-year-old Tyler Parker to death on a Covington roadside Saturday has been charged with second-degree murder.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says Robert Thomas “Bobby” Green of Covington has a clear history of alcohol abuse and is being held at King County Jail on $1 million bail. Green’s previous violations include breaking a protection order in 2008 and, as a juvenile, fourth-degree assault and possession of stolen property.

Green told King County Sheriff”s detectives that he and a friend had been drinking before they saw Parker near their home in the 19400 block of Southeast 267th Street early Saturday morning, and that he thought Parker was a prowler. The two then approached Parker, who had been intoxicated himself that day, according to detectives.

Earlier that morning, Parker had been hostile with Sheriff’s deputies and identified himself as a gang member with clothing that supported the claim, court papers say. The deputies dropped Parker off at a relative’s house, but Parker apparently left that house soon after and walked toward Green’s home.

Green said that Parker identified himself as a cocaine dealer whose gang controlled Green’s block, according to court documents. After Parker made threatening statements close to Green’s face, the documents say Green knocked Parker down and started beating him. Green continued the beating long after Parker was unconscious, according to a witness who said he tried to stop Green.

“I didn’t know Bobby was going to freak out on him,” the witness said, according to court documents.

Even after Green dragged Parker’s body about three houses away, fearing retaliation from Parker’s gang, court papers say, the witness had to keep Green from continuing to beat Parker. Green and the witness said Parker was breathing when they left him, according to the papers, but when they came back and poured beer on his face to wake him up, they realized he was dead.

After someone tipped law enforcement about Green and the beating, Green told detectives that he had beaten others severely in the past as well, according to court papers.

“You get hit a few times, you fall, you know, you wake up,” Green said to detectives, according to the papers. “You get up, you live to fight another, another, another, another, another day.”

But that obviously wasn’t true for Parker, who was found crumpled with blood streaked behind him and stomping marks on his face that matched shoes detectives found in Green’s home, court papers say. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office said Parker died of head trauma.

A judge found probable cause today to hold a 26-year-old man on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with the death Saturday of a 16-year-old boy in Covington.

The suspect, a Covington resident, is being held in the King County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. A second court appearance is scheduled for May 15.

According to the affidavit of probable cause outlining the police case, the suspect and victim were involved in a fight around 12:30 a.m. near the suspect’s house in the 19400 block of Southeast 267th Street. Police say the suspect hit and kicked the victim in the head several times. He then dragged the victim’s body down the street away from his home, according to the affidavit.

The teen’s body was discovered by deputies in the street around 5:30 a.m. Saturday. His name has not been released by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

King County sheriff’s K-9 deputies plan their search of Kentwood High School. (King County sheriff’s photo)

An email threatening a “hostage take-over and blood bath” at Kentwood High School has prompted authorities to advise school officials to send students home at 10:15 a.m. Friday while the school is searched, according to Sgt. Cindi West of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Early information indicates a former student hacked into another former student’s email account to send the threatening message, West said. Sheriff’s deputies are working with Kent police to locate the suspect. Sheriff’s K-9 units are being used to assist deputies in searching the Covington school, she said.

A message from Kentwood High School was sent to parents, informing them of the voluntary early dismissal. Parents are asked to pick up their children from the senior parking lot while students who ride buses to school will be dropped at their normal stops.

Seattle police believe this man, the so-called Jimmy Buffett Bandit, robbed at least nine banks before he was caught Thursday night. (Seattle Police Department photo)

Seattle police have arrested a man they’ve been calling the “Jimmy Buffett Bandit” since he robbed a bank in September sporting a thick mustache, pony tail and Hawaiian shirt.

The 44-year-old man was caught Thursday evening around 5:30 p.m. when trying to rob a US Bank near Westlake Avenue and 8th Avenue North, according to the Seattle Police Department. This time he was wearing a ski mask and threatened to shoot the bank clerk from whom he’d demanded cash.

As the bank clerk handed money over to the suspect, a security guard sneaked behind him and knocked the gun — which turned out to be fake — out of his hand. The suspect and security guard wrestled on the floor until the guard overpowered him.

When police arrived, the guard had the man pinned down on a floor strewn with cash, according to the department.

Robbery detectives believe the man arrested Thursday night is the same man who has committed at least nine robberies in Seattle, Bellevue, Covington, Kirkland and Lacey since September.

“Margaritas will be hard to come by where he’s going,” wrote Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on SPD’s online blotter.

A woman who was in serious condition last night after an SUV struck her and her boyfriend in a crowded Covington parking lot is now in stable condition, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.

A 71-year-old man hit the couple in a Walmart parking lot at about 8:40 p.m., said spokeswoman Sgt. Cindi West. The 45-year-old woman, who was initially stuck under the car, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center. Her boyfriend, a man in his 40s, suffered a head injury but was transported to Harborview in fair condition.

Deputies arrested the SUV driver on suspicion of vehicular assault and ordered him to take a mandatory blood draw at a nearby hospital, West said. He has been released to his family while the Sheriff’s Office awaits results of the toxicology test, which could take a few weeks, she said.

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Jail time for killing a dog: What causes someone to hit an aging dog, and so hard it has to be put down? Daniel Joseph Heidt, 25,  pleaded guilty to first-degree animal cruelty earlier this week for punching the dog he was watching for someone else. The Kitsap Sun reports.

It’s still November. Which means it’s raining.

Apple Cup today in Pullman. The Prediction:  Huskies 31, Cougs 17.

Black Friday. Do you really need that 500 inch big screen TV?

On the darker side of Black Friday, a couple headed for a sale at a Walmart in Covington last night was hit by a suspected drunk driver. The woman is in serious condition. The man suffered a head injury, but is in good condition.

Gimme more money, please. It seems inevitable that a public project won’t have the money it needs to support it. In the story about the special drill built to dig the tunnel to replace the viaduct, Seattle Time staff reporter Mike Lindblom notes: Some fiscal problems remain unsolved, notably the state’s realization that tolls cannot fund as much of the project as once predicted. Oops.

Stories trending this morning on seattletimes.com:

1. Huskies’ improved defense is proof of their progress
2. Seahawks taking page from college playbook for their offense
3. Huskies, Cougars on opposite paths to Pullman
4. Couple struck by SUV in Covington Walmart parking lot
5. Work nearly complete on assembling Highway 99 tunnel drill

 
Nick Provenza: 206-464-2142 or nprovenza@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @NickProvenza1

A King County District Court judge found probable cause today to hold a 26-year-old Kent man in the King County Jail on investigation of homicide in connection with the bludgeoning death of a 48-year-old man in Covington on Sunday afternoon.

The suspect is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. King County prosecutors are expected to file formal charges by Wednesday.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is awaiting scientific identification before releasing the name of the dead man.

The suspect and victim were drinking together in a trailer behind a house in the 26800 block of 172nd Place Southeast and got into a fight, according to the probable-cause statement outlining the police case against the suspect.

A man who lives in the house became concerned for the victim after he noticed blood on the 26-year-old when the younger man knocked on the homeowner’s window, demanded alcohol and said he had a gun, the statement says. The homeowner called 911 around 5:30 p.m. after finding the victim dead inside the trailer, it says.

When King County sheriff’s deputies arrived, they noted that the suspect had blood on his hands, shirts and pants but he couldn’t provide an explanation for the blood, the statement says. Initially, deputies thought that the victim had been fatally shot, but on Monday a sheriff’s spokeswoman said the man had been bludgeoned to death.

According to court documents, two of the suspect’s former girlfriends — including the mother of his 8-year-old daughter — filed petitions for protection orders against the man this year. Both women said in their petitions that the 26-year-old has a substance abuse problem and refused to leave them alone, the records say.

King County sheriff’s detectives say that a man who was slain near a Covington home on Sunday was bludgeoned to death and not shot as originally reported.

The Sheriff’s Office initially said the victim, a 48-year-old man, was shot in the head by a 26-year-old acquaintance, who was arrested at the scene. The victim was found in a trailer parked behind a house in the 26800 block of 172nd Place Southeast.

A 911 caller had told the Sheriff’s Office the victim had been shot.

The Sheriff’s Office said Monday the investigation revealed the victim had actually been bludgeoned. The circumstances leading up to the altercation are still being investigated, the Sheriff’s Office said.

A 26-year-old man was arrested late Sunday night in connection with a fatal shooting in Covington Sunday afternoon.

The King County Sheriff’s Office said the victim, a 48-year-old man, was fatally shot in the head. The 26-year-old arrested in connection with the crime was an acquaintance, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Cindi West.

The victim was found in a trailer parked behind a house in the 26800 block of 172nd Place Southeast, she said.

Officers initially detained four or five people at the scene while they were investigating.

They were called to the trailer around 5:30 p.m., West said, and the man was dead when they arrived.

About 100 appointments are still available for free eye exams for low-income and unemployed people.

Coordinated by the Renton Lions Club, the exams are to be performed April 20 at the Valley Eye and Laser Center in Renton.

Lions Clubs and their members have worked on projects to prevent blindness, restore eyesight and improve eye care for almost 100 years, said Cornelia Clark, coordinator of the vision program for the Renton club.

To schedule a free eye exam, contact the closest local Lions Club:

Auburn, Heidi Harris, 253-735-5340

Burien, Maurice Godfrey, 206-242-6456

Covington – Tom Russell, 206-271-0246

Des Moines, Megan Chamberlin 206-552-1613

Fairwood, Sandy Knutowski 425-271-3822

Federal Way, Elisa McKinny, summerelsie47@yahoo.com

Fife, Mike Hall, Charlie_mike@mac.com

Kennydale, John Brooks, 425-228-5465

Kent, Cheryl Croft, 253-852-5466

Kirkland, Efren Pascua, 425-820-9209

Normandy Park, Kelly Fox 206 242 1010

Renton – Cornelia Clark, 425-282-0487

Seattle/Rainer, Maria McDaniel, 206-856-7642

Seattle/Seatac Juanito “John” Araucto 206-419-8302

West Seattle, Harvey Rowe, 206-762-1221