A 34-year-old Kent man pleaded not guilty on Monday in King County Superior Court to a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of a another Kent man who tried to stop him from stealing his car.
Michael Riley appeared in court at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent to face the charge. He remains in custody at the county jail in Seattle with bail set at $1 million. He is scheduled to return to court on July 13 when a trial date could be set or attorneys can ask for more time to prepare the case.
Jonathan Burnett, died from injuries, suffered in the June 11 evening incident when he left his black Hyundai Sonata running momentarily in front of the Somerset Apartments, 25220 109th Ct. S.E., and then tried to stop Riley from reportedly stealing his vehicle. Burnett, who had left his car to make contact with residents at the apartments, saw Riley get into the driver’s side of the vehicle and tried to climb through an open window on the passenger’s side to get Riley to stop.
After about a block, Burnett was thrown from the vehicle and was seriously injured. Witnesses said it appeared Riley was intentionally trying to get Burnett out of the vehicle by swerving and hitting the curb. Witnesses started first aid until officers arrived and took over doing CPR. Medics arrived and took the Burnett to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he later died.
On June 11, Kent Police put out an all-points bulletin to surrounding agencies for the stolen vehicle. About an hour later, Renton Police responded to a vehicle collision involving Burnett’s stolen vehicle, and arrested Riley near the scene.
Riley is a self-admitted member of the Valley Hood Piru street gang and has prior convictions for second-degree kidnapping, obstructing an officer, theft, weapons display and solicitation, according to charging papers.
When detectives tried to talk to Riley in jail about the incident, he had already advised jail staff he didn’t want to talk to police without his attorney present.
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