A 22-year-old Kent man shot to death late Thursday night on the West Hill testified in 2012 against a Seattle gang member who shot and wounded him outside of a South Seattle restaurant.
JaeBrione Gary, died in Kent from multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death is homicide, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday.
Kent Police were dispatched to the report of shots fired at a West Hill residence in the 2700 block of South 256th Place at about 11:45 p.m. Thursday, according to a police media release. The location is just south of the Fred Meyer store.
Kent firefighters and medics also responded to the scene and provided aid to Gary who was later pronounced dead. Witnesses were able to describe a possible suspect.
Information about the suspect was developed and an all-points bulletin was sent to local agencies. The suspect was later located and transported back to the Kent Police Department for further questioning.
At this time, it appears Gary and the suspect knew each other, police said. Detectives are continuing their investigation. The suspect taken into custody is a 42-year-old Renton man, according to police.
Kent Police have not released any further information about the shooting or whether it had any ties to gangs.
Gary is the same man who was shot and wounded during a gang shooting outside of a Skyway restaurant in May 2012, according to a November 2012 post on the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office website.
A jury in November 2012 convicted Hailu Mandefero, then age 19, of first-degree assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Mandefero in 2013 received an 18-year prison sentence.
Gary initially identified Mandefero as the shooter but later became an uncooperative witness and tried to claim on the witness stand that another man had shot him, according to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office website.
In a rare move, prosecutors had Gary held on a material witness warrant to ensure his availability for trial, according to the website posting.
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said at the time that the case highlights the difficulties prosecutors face in dealing with reluctant witnesses in gang-related crimes.
“The phenomenon of witness recantation is often present in the prosecution of gang violence,” Satterberg said. “Our DPAs (deputy prosecuting attorneys) and gang detectives work hard to build cases that help jurors understand this dynamic and see the truth behind the lies.”
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