The community is invited to attend a fundraiser Italian Dinner and Silent Auction to benefit the “Justice For Jayme” Memorial Fund on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Des Moines.

Nineteen year-old Jayme Thomas was shot and killed early Saturday morning, Nov. 5th in Redondo following an argument that escalated among two unidentified men (read our previous coverage of this tragic crime here).

Resurrection Lutheran Church is located at 134 S. 206th Street in Des Moines.

UPDATE 11/28/11: Tickets are available from the church office (M-F 9am-5pm) or at the door, and are $10 Adults, and FREE for ages 5 and under.

There will also be a silent auction with many great items up for bid.

The money raised from the sale of the tickets and silent auction will increase the reward amount, which is currently at $1,000, to make it more attractive for someone to step forward with information. This would be paid to anyone providing information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whomever is responsible for her death – read more about that, along with photos of a ‘person of interest,’ here.

If you are unable to attend and would like to make a donation to the Fund, you may do so at any branch of Chase Bank.

According to The Wenatchee World, Kino Michael Gomez, 51, who was charged with first-degree murder in the July shooting of sound engineer and Des Moines native Tom Pfaeffle, has fled and is being sought by police.

According to the report, Gomez, of Seattle, wrote his family a “good-bye” letter, telling them he was taking a “one-way trip to the mountains.”

Gomez is charged in the shooting death of Pfaeffle, 49, at a Twisp hotel when Pfaeffle tried using his card key on the wrong room. Gomez fired two rounds through the door, killing Pfaeffle.

Here’s a quote from Gomez “good-bye” letter (see below for a scan of it):

“The media, the bloggers, the police, the justice system, none of whom witnessed the alleged crime, already hung me. … Well, just for spite, I shall deprive society of the circus it so bloody craves — the bearded lady quit!”

According to the World:

Twisp Police Chief Rick Balam said law enforcement agencies across the country have been notified, and are warned that he could be armed and dangerous. Gomez’s letter says he took his guns, and adds, “It will be quick and painless. Let no one get in my way — I will not be very kind. Despair has now changed to anger.”

Gomez was scheduled to attend a hearing in Okanogan County Superior Court tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 17th).

Here’s a copy of the “good-bye” letter:

Read the full story here.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Memorial Service For Des Moines Native Tom Pfaeffle Is Aug. 13th
• Murdered Sound Engineer Tom Pfaeffle Was A Des Moines Native

The girl (whose identity remains unreleased due to her age), plead guilty to manslaughter Thursday, and will serve less than three years in state juvenile detention after being sentenced Oct. 21st in King County Juvenile Court.

Prosecutors say information emerged that the girl may have been attacked or threatened.

The 49-year-old man, Francisco Pena, was stabbed in the chest in April at his home near Kent, after hiring the girl as a prostitute.

Jonathan Newman, 16, was the last of three teens to be sentenced for burglarizing and shooting the father of four, who was gunned down in the street near his house on 14th SW.

As the suspect who brought the gun and pulled the trigger that day, Newman was prosecuted as an adult, which resulted in the harshest punishment.

Both Newman’s and Hoffman’s relatives attended the emotional hearing at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Newman pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in April.

His two friends pleaded guilty to burglary charges and were each sentenced to two years in juvenile detention.

On Oct. 19, instead of going to school, the three teens were looking for a house to loot when they saw Hoffman drive away from his house, in the 11000 block of 14th Avenue Southwest, according to King County sheriff’s detectives.

They were ransacking the place when Hoffman unexpectedly returned, so they ran. Hoffman was chasing them when Newman turned and fired three times, striking the 46-year-old twice in the chest.

Investigators say Newman, then 15, laughed as Hoffman collapsed. He died almost instantly, his keys still dangling from the door of his home.

SOURCE:

• Seattle P-I

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The killing looked like a carjacking, and Whitehead’s wife then appealed for the murderer to turn themselves in?

Turned out that the victim’s wife, Velma Ogden-Whitehead, 50, was actually the mastermind behind her husband’s slaying, hiring a friend of her son’s to hide in her husband’s trunk.

This morning, Ogden-Whitehead sobbed in court as she begged for forgiveness, but her cries were summarily rejected by a judge who called her “self defense” argument a lie.

Ogden-Whitehead attempted to justify the killing as her reaction to sexual and physical abuse from her husband of ten years. Not surprisingly, Judge Steven Gonzalez didn’t fall for this defense, telling her:

“You are the perpetrator, not the victim you claim to be. Your claims of abuse and suffering are hollow.”

The judge later sentenced her to 22 years in prison.

Full story from The Seattle Times is here.

Police arrived at the scene shortly after 2 a.m., responding to a 911 call about shots fired outside the Foster Golf Links restaurant, said Tukwila police spokesman Mike Murphy.

There they found a chaotic scene of 200 to 300 people who had been leaving a party at Gordon’s on the Green at the Foster golf course. The party followed a book-signing by Bruce Williams and Donnell Alexander, authors of a book about Dr. Dre entitled “Rollin’ With Dre: The Unauthorized Account.”

Dr. Dre himself was not at the book signing or the party, but several other high-profile guests may have been, including former Seattle SuperSonics Gary Payton, Sam Perkins and Jerome Kersey – who were invited to attend, but it’s not known yet if they were actually there.

The party had been peaceful and orderly throughout the evening, said Gordon Harris, owner of the restaurant. But as the patrons were leaving the building, an altercation broke out in the parking lot and shots were fired.

Many of the people inside and outside the building panicked when they heard the gunfire. Someone kicked out the glass in a doorway, while others got on the ground or ran to the aid of the victims.

Additional police reinforcements were called in to help control the huge crowd at the scene and to help medics get through to the victims amid the mayhem.

Officers determined that five to eight shots were fired during the altercation and that two men were shot. Both victims were taken by ambulance to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

One of the victims, a 24-year-old from Renton, died from his injuries. The other, a 25-year-old from Skyway, remains in critical condition, Murphy said.

“We’re fortunate that no one else was hit,” he said, considering the density of the crowd and the number of shots fired.

As medics were transporting the victims to Harborview, about 100 people who had been at the party followed the ambulances in their cars and created a scene at the hospital. Some reportedly tried to climb into the ambulances as the victims were being taken out on stretchers, witnesses said.

Seattle police called in reinforcements to enforce crowd control at the hospital.

Police are still trying to piece together information about the incident and what led to the altercation and gunshots. All witnesses said the party had been a peaceful affair until it broke up and people were leaving the restaurant.

No suspects have been arrested yet.

Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to contact Tukwila police at (206) 433-1808.

Harris said some of his employees were shaken up by the incident. And he worries about the impact of the shooting on efforts to reclaim Tukwila’s image.

“It’s another strike against the city of Tukwila,” he said. “We’ve been working hard to change that image, and then this happens.”

SOURCE:

• KOMO News