Charges in Renton Murder Case
Yesterday afternoon, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged a defendant with Murder in the Second Degree with a firearm enhancement and Assault in the Second Degree with a firearm enhancement.
The case was referred yesterday by Renton Police and reviewed independently.
From the public charging documents:
The defendant took it upon himself to conduct “overwatch” in a Renton parking lot, despite the fact that he is not a member of law enforcement and thus has not been trained in how to safely prevent crime. The defendant observed three teenagers walking through the parking lot of a sporting goods store, one of whom had an airsoft gun in his pocket, and immediately assumed that the teenagers must be about to commit a violent robbery. Rather than calling 911 or waiting for any evidence at all that could confirm or deny his assumption, he claimed he had a “duty to intervene” and did so. The defendant exited his vehicle, pointed his own very real firearm at the three teenagers, and rapidly approached them. Despite the fact that he had no authority to do so and the teenagers had committed no crime, he commanded them to stop, drop their guns, and get on the ground. The teens complied with his commands, putting their hands in the air and placing the airsoft pistol he’d seen on the ground, and telling him it was just a “BB gun.”
Despite their compliance, the defendant then escalated the situation further, tackling B.A. and pinning him to the ground, while still holding his gun trained on the teenagers. He claimed he did this to prevent B.A. from reaching for the airsoft pistol he’d already placed on the ground, but the defendant failed to take the obvious step of securing the toy gun, rather than assaulting the teen who had carried it. As the defendant was pinning B.A. to the ground, H.R. had his hands in the air and was backing away. As H.R. turned away from the defendant, which a trained law enforcement officer observing the situation believed was so that H.R. could get away, the defendant fired at least seven rounds into his body, striking him once in the side and at least six times in the back. Despite the prompt lifesaving measures of the King County Sheriff’s Office deputies who had come across the situation as it was unfolding, H.R. died at the scene.
The defendant remains in jail on the $2 million bail set by the court. These charges are allegations. Defendants are innocent until proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
This post is not expected to be updated. For case updates, go to the KC Script Portal and view case number 24–1–04367–1.
