From the Feb 10 – Feb 16, 2005 issue

News

Police Beat

by Charles Mudede

My Investment/Maple Valley/Sun Jan 30/10 pm: Officer Milstead, whose writing is not at all easy to understand, and so demands heavy editing, reports: "The victim told me that he bought a house in Ballard in late October of 2004 as an investment--the victim planned to do some improvements and rent the place. At that time, he began talking with the suspect (a contractor) about the possibility of doing bathroom renovations in the Ballard home. The suspect was supposed to go to the residence, look at the bathroom, and give an estimate for the work. During the visit, however, the suspect removed all of the wood siding from the outside of the house, as well as some of the carpeting from various areas inside the house. The next day, the suspect told the victim that he would put the siding back on house and renovate the bathroom for $80,000. The victim did not hire the suspect, and also did not report the damage done to his Ballard property because he had contact with the suspect on a regular basis.

"On the day the Indian Ocean mercilessly killed over 200,000 people, December 26, the suspect made contact with the victim on a parking lot at 57th street and tried to hand the victim an envelope (it contained a bill for $600 for the work/damage done on the house). When the victim, who was standing by his car, refused to take the envelope, the suspect pushed him to ground and then slammed his head into the doorframe/window area of his car. Later that night, the victim went to Northwest Hospital with a cut on his head. Again, he did not file report because he felt the two could work out their differences without bringing the police into the picture.

"Later the same week, the suspect called the victim and said, 'Do you love your kids? Are your kids safe? Can you protect them? I'm coming after your kids.' Once again, the victim chose not to bring the police into this darkening picture, hoping that the suspect was just angry with him for not taking the envelope.

"This week the victim started getting headaches that deprived of him of sleep and peace. The victim connected these pounding headaches (they felt as if his soft brain was banging against hard wall of his skull) with the parking-lot assault. The headaches prompted him to report to the police the criminal incidents that have occurred over the past three months."

American Death/20th Ave NE/Mon Jan 31/11:30 am: Officer Willis reports: "The witness last spoke to the victim on January 28. The victim sounded good but was complaining of a chest cold coming on. During the next two days, the witness called the victim but got no response.

"Today, the witness drove to the victim's residence and found the victim lifeless on his bed inside a Winnebago trailer that the victim slept in every night. (Note: The Winnebago is permanently parked in the driveway of the house on 20th Avenue NE.) The witness called 911. Seattle Fire Department's Engine 40 responded and pronounced the victim DOA."