The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed two felony charges against the suspect in last Thursday morning’s shooting near 26th/Andover. 38-year-old Justin A. Weiland is charged with second-degree assault, with a firearm enhancement, and unlawful gun possession. The charging documents note that his criminal record goes back 25 years; in that time, prosecutors say, he’s been the subject of 50 warrants. As reported here last week, he was arrested hours after the shooting, leaving the Junction apartment of a woman who was reported to be with him when it happened. Prosecutors now say she factored indirectly into the shooting – though the victim is reported to have told police he didn’t know who shot him, the woman told police the victim is her former boyfriend, and that he and Weiland had been “feuding.” The entire incident was recorded by a security camera at the nearby West Seattle Health Club, and that’s how police identified Weiland as the suspect; an officer wrote that he and a partner “patrol the area of that encampment regularly and make a habit of getting to know the subjects that frequent that area. Justin Weiland is extremely recognizable to us as we have spoken to him on many occasions. Furthermore Justin Weiland’s signature look is a black jacket, blue jeans, a flat billed ball cap worn forward, and almost always fancy tennis shoes.” The 41-year-old victim suffered a gunshot wound to his calf. Weiland remains in the King County Jail, bail set at $300,000. (We obtained his photo from the state Department of Corrections, the only area agency that releases photos on request, provided the person has been in their system.)
West Seattle, Washington
02 Saturday
| 30 COMMENTS