The King County Sheriff’s Office has released more info about Tuesday morning’s shooting in White Center that killed a 23-year old female:

Police say that Tuesday morning (Aug. 16), at about 12:20 a.m., deputies were called to the area of SW Roxbury St. and 15th Ave. SW by a passing witness for a fight disturbance. When deputies arrived they met with a small group of females, including the now-deceased shooting victim. Deputies were told that the disturbance was minor and that the other group, which consisted of three black males, had left the area. The group of women declined to speak further about the incident.

Deputies stayed in the general area and began to walk on foot to increase their visibility and to try to prevent further violence from erupting. Just before 1 a.m., officers heard several gunshots coming from the area of the original disturbance. When they returned they disocvered the victim laying in the middle of 15th Ave. SW with at least one gunshot wound. Witnesses said that at least two of the original three black males had returned and that one then shot the victim. The suspects then fled the scene on foot.

At this point, no suspects are in custody and no weapon has been recovered. Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit are investigating.

Police have not been able to rule out if this was gang-related or not.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office Gang Unit will be also be assisting as needed.

Here’s a video report from our friends at KING5:

The Washington State Patrol reports that around 12:55am Saturday morning (April 9), Mark R. Adams, 60, of Normandy Park, was killed when his car crashed into a barrier just off the S. 176th exit of southbound SR-509.

Adams’ 2003 Acura was traveling south, when he apparently took the exit and hit the barrier.

He was traveling alone in the vehicle, which was totaled. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No other cars were involved in the accident.

Jorge Lizarraga

Late last week, the King County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Jorge L. Lizarraga, 19, of Burien, who is accused of the shooting death of Devin Topps, 18, last Halloween at a party in Kent.

According to police reports, Lizarraga was with a group of young men gathered in the home’s driveway, and that he shot Topps after firing a pistol into the air. Topps was a top recruit for Eastern Washington University’s football program.

Detectives say that witnesses claim that Topps got in a fight with another man just prior to the fatal shooting. That fight was apparently continuing when Lizarraga came up and shot Topps in the back.

Police later searched Lizarraga’s motel room, where they found two pistols, and one, a 9mm gun stolen in a burglary four days before the Topps shooting, was determined to be the murder weapon.

Lizarraga remains in jail on $1.8 million bail, and a status hearing is scheduled for April 28 at 1 p.m. at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center.

Lizarraga is also facing several other current charges, including Unlawful Possession of a Firearm First Degree, Taking a Motor Vehicle Without Permission Second Degree, Vehicular Assault, Felony Hit and Run, Rape of a Child Third Degree, Communication With a Minor for Immoral Purposes, Residential Burglary, Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Possession of Methamphetamine.

Here’s more from our sister site The Waterland Blog (for Des Moines) posted Dec. 22, 2010:

Topps was shot outside an east Kent home while leaving a private Halloween party on Oct. 31st of this year. He was a coveted football recruit for Eastern Washington University’s football program.

The arrest culminated an early evening cat-and-mouse surveillance effort by police. Working with information developed by Kent Police Detectives, undercover officers went to the Kings Arms Motel in Des Moines on a tip that evidence of the crime would be located there. Shortly thereafter detectives identified and followed two cars associated to the crime leaving the area. One of those cars was stopped a short time later without incident. When Detectives attempted to stop the second car, the driver sped into a nearby residential neighborhood before abandoning the vehicle.

Police surrounded the area and while searching for the two occupants, saw another car driving away quickly. When they tried to stop that car, officers saw a passenger jump out and run away. A Kent Police canine team was called in to assist. It was during that search that an alert Kent Detective driving through the area noticed a man crossing a parking lot a short distance away. That man, wearing only a t-shirt and jeans, was contacted and eventually identified as the suspect.

“Our Detectives have been working on this senseless murder without rest,” said Kent Police Chief Steve Strachan. “It’s good to finally have a suspect in jail and see this case moving forward toward prosecution.”

On Tuesday (March 8), former ‘Alice In Chains’ bass player Mike Starr, 44, was found dead in his Salt Lake City home. Starr, who graduated from Burien’s Highline High School in 1984, was the band’s original bassist from the group’s formation in 1987 to 1993.

He had been battling a drug problem for a number of years, and in January 2010 was featured as a patient on the third season of “Celebrity Rehab,” a VH1 reality show, where he appeared to be unable to overcome his addiction.

According to news reports, Starr was arrested in Salt Lake City three weeks ago on an outstanding warrant related to an earlier drug charge. At the time he was arrested, he was also found carrying unauthorized prescription medications.

He played bass for the albums Facelift, Sap, and Dirt, and left Alice In Chains in the middle of the Dirt tour. He also sang backing vocals on the song “Confusion” on the Alice in Chains album Facelift.

According to numerous sources, Starr’s departure from the band was amicable, and was allegedly due to the rigors of constant touring and the desire to spend more time with his family.

TMZ, which broke the news of Starr’s death Tuesday, quoted his father as saying: “It’s a terrible shock and tragedy.”

The band, which recently re-formed, posted this announcement on their website:

Members of Alice in Chains are mourning the loss of their friend and ask that the media respect their privacy – and the privacy of the Starr family – during this difficult time. Their thoughts & prayers are with the Starr family.

Everyone here at The B-Town Blog sends our deepest sympathies out to Mike’s friends, family and fellow fans.

VIDEOS:

Here’s a pretty cool home video of the band jamming backstage before a concert:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And here’s some of our personal AIC faves – check out the big rock star hair-flingin’ on “Man in the Box”!:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There will be a memorial service for Carter Derek Allen, the 14-year old HS3 student who was struck by a car on Jan. 15th, and who passed away Feb. 4th (read our previous coverage here) this Sunday Feb. 13th in the gym of the Evergreen Campus beginning at 2pm.

HS3 will need volunteers to help set up or bake cookies for a reception following.

Evergreen’s campus is located at 830 SW 116th Street in White Center.

Donations for the family can be made through PayPal (link below) and 100% of the funds will go to Carter’s family to cover medical, funeral and other necessary expenses.

Cards & donations can also be sent to Carter’s father Derek:

Derek Allen
10805 26th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98146-1991

Please note that ALL donations will go directly to the boy’s family.

BTB Reader Ed Dacy sent us the following shellphone cellphone pic, which he took last Sunday (Jan 30th) of a dead Seagull that apparently landed on a transformer and knocked out power near Elmer’s Pub, at the intersection of SW 151st and Ambaum Blvd. SW:

“There was a loud pop, then the lights went out at the building in which Elmer’s is located,” Ed said. “City Light showed up in about 30 minutes and said it probably was a crow on the transformer. The bartender told them to look at their feet. They saw the Seagull and said that’s different – it’s a Seagull all right.”

The Seagull’s identity has not yet been released, pending notification of next of kin, but there’s a good chance the victim was someone’s Gullfriend, so please be careful what kinds of Comments you leave below.

We’re not sure who cawed this incident in, and City Light would not say whether the bird’s family would be given a Bill for the on-scene crew fees incurred by the outage.

We’re also unsure who disposed of the body, but we are pretty sure that Burien’s new Animal Control did not show up.

No word yet on when or where a memorial service will be held, but expect to see some kind of tribute at Elmer’s Pub.

The King County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that an 81-year old Burien woman was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center on Friday (Jan. 28th) after she was involved in an automobile accident.

Police say that the accident happened about 1pm Friday, at the intersection of S. 160th and the Ambaum Cutoff South in Burien.

A 61-year old Des Moines woman was driving a 1992 Dodge Dakota pick-up eastbound on S. 160th. Investigating detectives believe she went through a red light and her vehicle hit a 1994 Pontiac Bonneville that was northbound on the Ambaum Cutoff.

After the initial impact, the Bonneville continued northbound across S. 160th and struck another vehicle facing southbound. That driver was taken to Highline Medical Center with minor injuries.

The driver of the Bonneville was taken to Harborview where she subsequently died.

The driver of the Dodge was admitted to HMC in serious condition.

Identities of the victims were not released.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office announced that it is requesting a re-trial in the case of Myron C. Wynn, whose trial on charges of Murder First Degree ended in a hung jury last month.

Wynn is accused of murdering Bob Wykel in February, 1996. Wykel has never been found, and his abandoned 1989 Mercedes Benz was discovered in a Burien Park and Ride in March, of 1996.

The second trial is scheduled for Feb. 28 at the King County Courthouse.

Robert J. Wykel

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Wykel was a dealer of vintage and exotic cars at the time of his disappearance. Foul play is suspected in his disappearance.

Here’s more info on the case from the prosecutor’s office:

• Mr. Wykel was reported missing by a friend on March 13, 1996 because he had not been seen or heard from since February 21, 1996.
• Mr. Wykel was known to travel via public transit to inspect or purchase vehicles and was known to carry large quantities of cash on him.
• Anyone who may have seen Robert Wykel may remember him by the immense jewelry he wore, but specifically by the abnormally large diamond ring he wore.
• Wynn’s ex-girlfriend received a necklace from him as a gift in 1996, the same year Wykel disappeared. The necklace has an unusual diamond. Wynn told her he found the gem at a bus stop in Burien, the same place where Wykel’s car was found abandoned, court documents said. When the two broke up, Wynn took back the diamond and sold it to his aunt. Investigators recovered the stone from Wynn’s aunt and had it appraised at $5,000. Records say that it had several chips and abrasions, similar to Wykel’s diamond.
• Mr. Wykel’s 1989 Mercedes Benz was discovered in a Burien Park N’ Ride on March 11, 1996.

The King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is still seeking info on Wykel, so if you know anything you’re asked to call (206) 296-7530 [King County Sheriff's Office Case #96-082826].

The Washington State Patrol is reporting that, late Monday night (Oct. 18th), 911 dispatchers received a frantic phone call initially reporting a wrong way driver on SR-509 in Burien.

This resulted in a head-on collision, and ended with an ambulance colliding with a pedestrian thrown between several other vehicles.

In the end, the wrong-way driver, Adam Knapp, 31, of Federal Way, was killed, and five others were injured.

WSP’s report says:

At 11:53pm Monday night, an on-duty Tri-Med ambulance driver made the initial 911 call on his cell phone to report a silver Subaru had turned around and began traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of State Route 509 just south of South 128th street. The ambulance driver indicated that he lost sight of the vehicle for a moment. Immediately he reported he observed the Subaru had been involved in a head on collision followed by the report that the ambulance had struck the driver of the Subaru after he exited his vehicle.

The preliminary investigation reveals that the silver Subaru Legacy, while traveling northbound in the northbound lanes of State Route 509, turned around for an unknown reason and began traveling southbound in the northbound lanes where it very quickly struck a Ford Explorer head-on. The force of the impact sent the Subaru Legacy spinning into an Acura Integra that had been traveling northbound behind the Explorer. The driver of the Explorer, a 31-year old female from Tukwila, was taken from the scene in critical condition and her two passengers, 27 and 23-year old females both from Seattle were transported in serious condition. The driver of the Acura, a 47-year old man from Seattle and his passenger, a 43-year old female also from Seattle, were transported for chest pain. All injured parties were taken to Harborview Medical Center and their conditions are unknown at the time of this release.

State Patrol Detectives are still trying to determine the next course of events that lead the driver of the Subaru Legacy, a 31-year old man from Federal Way, to exit his badly damaged vehicle and attempt to flee the scene by jumping over the center median divider and running into the southbound lanes where he was struck by at least 4 vehicles and possibly a 5th. The 5th vehicle, a dark passenger car, reportedly left the scene without stopping. The driver of the Subaru – now fleeing pedestrian, was struck while in the southbound lanes and thrown from vehicle to vehicle finally being vaulted underneath the Tri-Med ambulance as it was attempting to pull over to assist with the collision. The Emergency Medical Technicians on board attempted to resuscitate the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Troopers are looking for witnesses who may have observed or have any information regarding this hit and run collision that occurred between the pedestrian and the dark colored small passenger car or small SUV.

If you have information please call Detective Stacy Moate at 425-401-7746.

Here are photos from the scene courtesy the Washington State Patrol:

BTB Advertiser Infusion Tea and Coffee will be holding a memorial Open Mic night to honor recently-deceased 2008 Highline High Grad/Musician Carly Henley on Saturday, Oct. 23rd starting at 7pm.

Donations will be accepted, with all proceeds going to her family.

Carly’s CDs will also be on sale.

Infusion Tea and Coffee is located at 15607 First Ave South, Ste 102 in Burien (206-436-8440).

More info on this memorial available at this Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=154156254624556&index=1

A candlelight vigil will be held tonight (Friday, Oct. 8th) for Henley, beginning at 8pm in front of the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity house, located at 4520 21st Ave NE in Seattle’s U-District.

Read our previous coverage of this story here.