Followup: Assault charges filed in Alki shooting, fight

With a community meeting at Alki’s Bamboo Bar and Grill less than two hours away, charges have been filed against the man arrested in connection with the fight and shooting outside Bamboo early Sunday (previous WSB coverage here and here). 27-year-old Michael Helmer of Kent is now charged with first-degree assault and fourth-degree assault – the former for shooting one man, the latter for attacking another. The court documents include the full narrative of what police believe happened – we will add that to this story shortly. (WSB photo from early Sunday)

UPDATED 4:32 PM: The full narrative, minus the names of witnesses and victims, is ahead:

On 8/19/12 at approximately 0115 hours (victim 1, age 30) was outside of the Bamboo Bar, 2806 Alki Avenue SW, when he was attacked by two unknown males. (He) ended up on the ground while Helmer and an unidentified suspect repeatedly kicked (him) in the head. (Victim 2) was also outside of the bar when the assault began. He stepped in and attempted to separate the suspects from (victim 1). At that time Helmer pulled out a pistol and pointed it in the direction of (victim 2). Helmer fired the pistol once, striking (victim 2) in the left upper arm. Helmer and the unidentified suspect immediately left the scene. Helmer was seen running eastbound on the beach. (Witness 1) witnessed the assault and saw Helmer with the pistol. (Witness 1) got into his vehicle and followed Helmer as he ran from the scene. (Witness 1) called 911 immediately and gave updates to the dispatcher as he followed Helmer. (Witness 1) observed Helmer take off his green and blue colored shirt and then walk up to the sidewalk near 54th Ave SW and Alki. (Witness 1) then saw Helmer place the shirt under a maroon colored SUV that was parked on the street. Helmer then walked to a bench and sat down. Once officers arrived in the area … (witness 1) waved them down and pointed out the suspect as well as the vehicle where Helmer had placed his shirt …

The narrative continues:

Officers took Helmer into custody without incident. Helmer had an empty leather holster clipped to the inside of his shorts’ waistband. Officers also recovered a 9mm Makarov semi-auto pistol loaded with eight 9mm rounds. The pistol was wrapped inside of a green Seahawks #12 jersey that was resting on top of the right rear tire of a parked (unoccupied) Dodge Durango. Officers recovered a single fired cartridge casing at the scene of the shooting. The fired casing was of the same caliber as the rounds found in the Makarov semi-auto pistol.

During the subsequent followup investigation, I contacted (victim 2) and (victim 1) and obtained statements from both. (Victim 2) had been shot in the upper left arm. The bullet traveled through the arm and into his chest. (Victim 2) was advised by Harborview medical staff that removal of the bullet would create a substantial risk to (his) health. (Victim 1) was also treated at Harborview Medical Center and suffered from a concussion, multiple lacerations, stitches to his right elbow, and swelling to his face.

According to the court document requesting that bail for Helmer remain at $150,000, that bullet is now “lodged near (the shooting victim’s) heart.” That document also says that Helmer “has known criminal convictions for Minor in Possession (2004, 2005), Attempted Vehicular Assault (2005), Reckless Driving (2005), Driving Under the Influence (2005) and Carrying a Concealed Weapon Without a Permit (2008).”

Helmer is scheduled for arraignment – appearing in court to answer the charges – on September 5th.

22 Replies to "Followup: Assault charges filed in Alki shooting, fight"

  • Rob August 22, 2012 (4:49 pm)

    Helmer sounds like a real treat. Can we all appologize for blaming any of this on the Bamboo bar now?

  • cr August 22, 2012 (4:52 pm)

    Classy character.

  • Guy August 22, 2012 (5:18 pm)

    Why wasn’t Helmer at one of the other bars on Alki Rob?

  • MB August 22, 2012 (5:29 pm)

    Its not bamboos fault, but unfortunately that place attracts quite a bit of trouble

  • Spike August 22, 2012 (5:56 pm)

    So long sweat heart

  • Chuck and Sally's Van Man August 22, 2012 (6:15 pm)

    @ Rob: Sorry, but the Bamboo is not off the hook. I live near a local neighborhood bar that in its heyday thought nothing of over-serving its patrons who would drive off into the night (after making a ruckus time and again) as drunk as could be. That bar was just as culpable IMHO as were the people they served. Sure, these drunks were ultimately responsible (as is Mr. Helmer), but without the Bamboo chronically looking the other way and/or condoning this behavior, it doesn’t happen. My two cents.

  • West Seattleite August 22, 2012 (6:21 pm)

    Anyone have directions to the Thug Bar and Grill?

    • WSB August 22, 2012 (7:10 pm)

      We covered tonight’s meeting and will have a story up soon as we can write it. One revelation of interest – there was a meeting earlier with a variety of regulatory/government agencies on hand. – TR

  • CR August 22, 2012 (7:56 pm)

    The city and/or WSLCB simply need to put a law in place that after x number of incidents at your establishment (regardless of the neighborhood) that you are required to be closed for a period of time such as having to close at 9:00 or 10:00pm instead 2:00am for x months or being required to be completely closed for 1, 2, 3 or 6 months depending on the issues. This gives the owners of the establishment an opportunity to fix things before being completely shutdown. And significantly increase the penalties for taking a firearm into a bar…i.e. a mandatory jail sentence…no slap on the hand.

    Having said that, the Bamboo was one of my favorite spots years ago for breakfast, lunch or dinner until the place went downhill. I am strongly in favor in giving the small biz guys a chance. The Bamboo also needs to decide the clientele they want to serve. There is a huge population in WS for cater too.

    • WSB August 22, 2012 (8:00 pm)

      Actually, as will be noted in our story, there is a city nuisance ordinance with those types of stipulations – that’s one of the things I asked the assistant city attorney about after the meeting. Stand by, still writing.

  • Sonoma August 22, 2012 (9:32 pm)

    While we can’t ban booze at Bamboo, let’s hope some action is taken to curb the idiotic behavior.

  • alki star August 22, 2012 (9:41 pm)

    Bamboo is dangerous. It should be closed down. Too many shootings/stabbings/beatings have occurred there, directly related to Bamboo. They need to hire off-duty police officers, or they need to move/close.

    We have more to lose than Bamboo does (our lives, and our children’s lives). Moreover, we have more money, and many more highly REKNOWNED attorneys than bamboo. Bamboo is putting our children’s lives in danger – and I can assure you that we will do whatever we can to protect our children’s lives. Either the city will shut them down, Bamboo will change (and hire off-duty police officers), or Bamboo will face tremendous lawsuits, forcing them into bankruptcy and insolvency.

  • Alki ex-fan August 22, 2012 (10:00 pm)

    My wife and I don’t go to Alki anymore. Period. Not worth the risk.

    We also don’t hang out on the streets of Kent, Tukwila and Renton looking for a good time.

  • EdSane August 22, 2012 (10:34 pm)

    Yawn. I wouldn’t blame Bamboo so much. Its more about location. Alki will continue to have a thriving nightlife regardless of one bar.

  • James August 22, 2012 (11:06 pm)

    If the guy had been like Jason Bourne he would have swam out and hijacked a boat to Blake Island or something. Instead he hid the gun under a car where he could have thrown it in the sound for the divers to find. Stupid because there are cops everywhere on Alki.

  • kong August 22, 2012 (11:21 pm)

    Bamboo is full of thugs, and the place clearly welcomes and encourages that kind of environment.

  • QQman August 23, 2012 (12:36 am)

    @Alki Star, you can’t expect to bully people to do what you want. It easy to make threats in a public forum, but what are you doing to actually help? My guess is nothing. Also, these incidents are happening late at night, are your children hanging out at these hours? Mighty responsible of you.
    Anyways, this is going to happen anywhere you have a combination of alcohol and stupid people. It’s not the Bamboo’ fault, it’s a fault of our society. To single out Bamboo as the only responsible party for this incident is wrong. It seems to me like every time something happens close to a bar/bottle shop, the establishment is always to blame. They didn’t sell this guy a gun and they didn’t raise him to be a violent human being. Stop placing blame on the establishment and start looking for those who are truly at fault.

  • AHpeop August 23, 2012 (8:35 am)

    I’m inclined to agree with those who say it is a broader problem – not the bar’s. Does the fact that violent people are drawn there imply that they are encouraged to come there? Encouraged to be violent? I really doubt it. The problem with those people began long before they arrived at the bar. You can channel them somewhere else on any given evening, but I don’t know that you can reduce the likelihood that they’ll hurt someone at that other place. It seems like a national problem in which we don’t teach people how to resolve conflict, then we glamorize aggressive and even violent means of addressing conflict, and last but not least we cling to the absurd notion that it makes little difference how much access there is to deadly weapons. Some of us do, anyway. And the notion that the founding fathers wanted everyone to have the right to carry guns. What bunch of B.S. that is.

  • miws August 23, 2012 (8:37 am)

    James, he should have hijacked a rowboat, and moments later he could have been at Lake Union! ;-)

    .

    Mike

  • cr August 23, 2012 (8:39 am)

    Where is personal responsibility in all this? You want to blame a restaurant because someone got into a fight and shot someone. I could drink in an applebees and jump someone if I felt like it. If I go to a grocery store and buy two fifths and drink them in my car, then beat someone up outside the store are they now liable? After reading this blog for a couple years, the people who comment on here are quick to point fingers and assign blame. An anonymous mob. I’ve seen people overserved in a number of west seattle establishments. So should we shut them all down? A bunch of whiners and rabble rousers behind a computer.

  • P. August 23, 2012 (4:34 pm)

    AHpeop..you are right o the money. THIS IS A NATIONAL PROBLEM.

  • west seattlite August 25, 2012 (5:14 pm)

    I wish the place where we lived, was the same place we’d feel safe to frequent in the evenings and weekends. Have other beach towns fixed problems like this? Perhaps that’s where we learn to begin, from success stories elsewhere. http://www.solutionsforamerica.org/thrivingneigh/crime-prevention.html

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