(12:21 PM UPDATE: We now have prosecution reaction after a mixed decision at the monthlong trial in the Steve Bushaw murder case. Bryce Huber is guilty; the jury could not reach a decision regarding Brandon Chaney, so his case ends in mistrial. The victim’s family says Huber is the one they most wanted to see convicted. The following begins with as-it-happened updates from WSB editor Tracy Record at the courthouse.)

8:58 AM: We’re in the King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque‘s courtroom, awaiting word of the jury’s decision in the monthlong trial of two men charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Steve Bushaw. The 26-year-old West Seattleite (right) was killed the night of February 1, 2009, shot in the middle of California SW by two men who already have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. In this trial, which we have been covering since the start, defendant Bryce Huber is accused of luring Bushaw to his death; defendant Brandon Chaney is accused of driving the getaway car. The seven-woman, five-man jury has deliberated three full days since getting the case late last Wednesday; the trial began August 1st. The victim’s family members have arrived; so have two of the three lawyers. We’ll cover this as it happens.

9:14 AM: Both defendants are now here, escorted by uniformed, armed King County Jail officers as always, cuffs taken off just before they sit down at the table with their lawyers. About three dozen spectators, mostly family of victim/defendants, are in the courtroom now.

9:17 AM: Judge DuBuque has announced the jury says they have reached a verdict for one defendant and is “unable to reach a verdict for the other.” They asked for directions. The judge is asking the lawyers what they think. She says she doesn’t know which defendant is matched to which circumstance. (9:21) They will call in the jury to ask the presiding juror if there is any hope they will reach a verdict on the second defendant.

9:24 AM: The presiding juror says “no,” after the judge warned that nothing else must be said. The jury now is leaving the courtroom so the judge and lawyers can consult. (9:27) At the request of Huber’s lawyer Tony Savage, the jurors are being brought back to ask if they all agree with the presiding juror’s answer. One voice said “no.” They’re being sent out again. (9:31) Savage says he’s OK with accepting one verdict and one mistrial (we still don’t know which defendant is which), so the jurors are being brought back out for the announcement.

9:32 AM: The jury is back. The verdict has been given to the bailiff. Huber is guilty. The family is gasping. He is guilty of murder in the first degree, with firearm enhancement (which adds 5 years to the sentence). This means Chaney’s case is deadlocked, and a mistrial is declared. A date will be set in a few weeks regarding what happens next. (added) Huber’s sentencing is set for 9 am September 16th, and later that day, there will be a hearing regarding the next steps toward a new trial for Chaney. The defendants, officers, and lawyers are leaving.

(Photo added, by Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times: Steve’s mother Meg Bushaw, hugged by daughter Tanya Bushaw)
The family is still standing in the courtroom. We had made an earlier request to speak with anyone who chose to spoke on their behalf, so we are going out in hopes of talking with them.

9:52 AM: Steve Bushaw’s only sibling, Tanya Bushaw, tells WSB she is “very happy. (Huber) was the one and only person we had been wanting the most out of the case. He is the one who lured my brother (to his death), and the one who put my brother’s name up” (in relation to the home-invasion robbery of a friend of Huber’s, which was the motive in the shooting’s complicated backstory). Tanya also said that, regarding the mistrial for Chaney, “of all the people (in the case), if one was to have a mistrial, he would have been my very first choice.” Tanya and Steve’s dad Ron Bushaw said simply, “I’m happy that one of them was found guilty, and I hope the other will be.”

10:23 AM NOTE: Our partners at the Seattle Times had a crew in the courtroom for the verdict and we expect to be able to add some of their photos later; we have added a file shot of Huber in the meantime, taken during January proceedings, by Christopher Boffoli for WSB. (added – their photo of Huber)

(Photo by Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times)
It should also be noted that the two men who admitted shooting Bushaw, John Sylve and Danny O’Neal, are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge DuBuque at 2 pm September 30th.

12:18 PM UPDATE: King County Prosecuting Attorney‘s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe says the jury was split 8-4 for convicting Chaney – this was not announced in open court, but jurors were offered the chance to talk with the lawyers afterward – and his office is considering a retrial. Also regarding the oft-asked question of potential charges against others who have emerged as possibly involved: “We will be reviewing information presented at trial and other evidence regarding the potential involvement of others.”

TUESDAY NIGHT NOTE: The KCPAO’s official summary of the trial’s end can be read here; it notes that Huber will face a sentencing range of 25-31 years in prison, while Sylve and O’Neal face 15-23 years. One other note: WSB complete coverage of the entire trial is archived here, newest-to-oldest.

We’re at the King County Courthouse, staked out awaiting word of a decision in the Steve Bushaw murder trial, but there won’t be one today – the jury has just gone home for the day. However, Judge Joan DuBuque‘s bailiff has just informed WSB that, “The jury will have some news for us tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock.”

Jurors have now deliberated for three full days, after getting the case toward the end of the day last Wednesday. They are deciding the fate of two men who are charged with first-degree murder though Bushaw was shot on February 1st, 2009, by two other men, both of whom pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder. WSB is the only news organization that has been covering the trial; our coverage is archived here, newest to oldest.

At 3:38 pm, the lawyers in the Steve Bushaw murder trial finished their closing arguments (including the final rebuttal from prosecutor Jeff Baird), and the jury has gone off to start deliberating. We’ll summarize the gist of the arguments in a story later.

We’re at the King County Courthouse, where the jury in the Steve Bushaw murder trial has already been sent home for the day, and closing arguments are expected to start first thing tomorrow morning. The final testimony included a brief appearance by defendant Brandon Chaney‘s girlfriend, asked only about a phone call from him the night of the murder, a “rebuttal” appearance by the main Seattle Police detective on the case, James Cooper, asked about interviewing Chaney again in January of this year, and a brief reappearance by Chaney himself. Defendant Bryce Huber‘s lawyer did not call any witnesses. This afternoon, the lawyers and King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque will reconvene to discuss the wording of jury instructions (for those following closely, please note, we’re not planning to cover that), and then everyone’s expected back at 9 am tomorrow for closing arguments, after which the case will go to the jury.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Unless something dramatic happens in the next day or two, Brandon Chaney will be the only one of the two defendants testifying in the ongoing Steve Bushaw murder trial.

Chaney (shown at left in January 2011 WSB photo) was on the stand all day Monday, beginning the fourth week of testimony before a jury in King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque‘s courtroom, which is likely to be the last – as few as two more witnesses remain, and the lawyers and judge are already talking extensively about how to craft jury instructions.

Monday began with prosecutor Jeff Baird formally resting his case, before jurors entered, so that a motion could be argued. It highlighted some tension that’s perhaps inherent in the double-defendant, single-case format.

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Quick toplines from the first day of the fourth week of testimony in the trial of two of the four men charged in the murder of 26-year-old Steve Bushaw in the middle of a West Seattle street on Super Bowl night in February 2009. Defendant Brandon Chaney spent the entire day on the witness stand, claiming he had no knowledge of a plan to shoot Bushaw until the two confessed shooters, John Sylve and Danny O’Neal, ran to the car he was driving that night and yelled “GO!” All three lawyers finished their questioning of him around 3:30, and then they spent some time talking with the judge about the instructions that will be given to the jury before they begin deliberating. Chaney’s lawyer Jim Roe indicated he has one more witness to call; prosecutor Jeff Baird says he has at least one “rebuttal witness”; defendant Bryce Huber’s lawyer Tony Savage appeared to indicate he would not call any witnesses – he had already said his client probably wouldn’t testify. Once the defense rests, both sides will get to present their closing arguments before the case goes to the jury. The contention has been that Huber and Chaney were in on the shooting plan, conceived as retribution on behalf of a friend of both men who was beaten up in a home-invasion robbery two weeks earlier, because that friend allegedly believed Bushaw had masterminded the robbery (but wasn’t present).

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The fourth week of testimony in the first West Seattle murder case to go to trial in three years begins Monday morning. Week #3 concluded Thursday with the final witness prosecutor Jeff Baird had said he would call, Det. James Cooper (who had briefly been on the stand a week earlier).

This daylong stint on the stand painted the picture of how police developed their case, with tools including cell-phone records and Facebook friend lists, over the course of more than half a year following the deadly shooting of Steve Bushaw (right) in the middle of California SW in The Junction on Super Bowl Sunday night 2009.

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The prosecution might rest its case today in the trial of the two remaining defendants in the February 2009 West Seattle murder of Steve Bushaw.

We were in court for the afternoon session on Wednesday, which included the end of testimony by another of the detectives in the case, talking about cell-phone records – which are key to the prosecution’s case – and the testimony of a woman who says defendant Bryce Huber, with whom she had been romantically involved, drove to see her in the Tri-Cities the day after the shooting.

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Update from the King County Courthouse: Prosecutor Jeff Baird may rest his case tomorrow in the murder trial of 2 of West Seattleite Steve Bushaw‘s alleged killers. This afternoon, the jury heard from a woman who said she had a romantic relationship with defendant Bryce Huber, saying he had told her about the night Bushaw was shot, and previously, about his desire for revenge in the home-invasion robbery/assault of a friend, and his belief that Bushaw had arranged it. The prosecution’s next witness will be the main SPD detective on the case. When it is defense lawyer Jim Roe‘s turn, he says, he expects to call his client, Brandon Chaney, to testify. More details in a longer report tonight; our coverage is archived, newest to oldest, here.

By Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

In King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque‘s courtroom, the trial of 2 men charged in the February 2009 murder of Steve Bushaw is on break until next Wednesday. Two witnesses testified Thursday morning before the jury was dismissed till then.

Once defendants Bryce Huber and Brandon Chaney were brought in and seated at the defense table with their attorneys, the jurors filed in – after the bailiff’s “all rise” command, giving the jury the same sign of respect as the judge – and took their seats. Then the first witness of the day took the stand: Assistant county medical examiner Pamela Ulmer, who was working at the King County Medical Examiner’s office during the time Steve Bushaw was murdered.

With his first questions, prosecutor Jeff Baird established her training and qualification, which included her degree in chemistry, a medical degree, having completed a pathology residency program and additional certification in forensic pathology. Ulmer said that the mandate of a medical examiner is to examine or look for the cause of death if it’s not “an attended natural death.” An autopsy entails looking at the cause of death – “was it a disease, accident, injury,” facilitating the categorization of different causes into a specific cause. This enables the medical examiner to specify which of the five classified manners of death a case should be ruled as: natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined.

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Katie Meyer at the King County Courthouse comes word that the Steve Bushaw murder trial is recess till next Wednesday. As noted at the end of our report on the Wednesday proceedings, Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque already had agreed to a defense lawyer’s request to end early today, – but due to witness availability, “early” moved back a few hours, and that meant at lunchtime, they were done, since the trial’s not in session on Fridays, and was already off the calendar for next Monday and Tuesday. A King County Medical Examiner staffer was on the stand this morning; we’ll have details in a full report from Katie later. WSB is the only news organization covering what is the first West Seattle murder case to go to trial in three years (it’s also a rare multiple-defendant trial); our coverage is archived, newest to oldest, here.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

It was an educational day at the Steve Bushaw murder trial on Wednesday, as testimony took a turn for the technical.

As prosecutor Jeff Baird continued to call witnesses in his case against Brandon Chaney and Bryce Huber, accused in the February 2009 West Seattle murder to which two others already have pleaded guilty, there was much for observers to learn.

Today’s witnesses were two Seattle Police homicide detectives, Paul Takimoto and James Cooper, and a state-employed expert in analyzing cell-phone records, Valentine Luu.

First, from Det. Takimoto, we learned how the SPD homicide unit is set up, as questions focused on his background and role, before moving on to his part of the Bushaw murder investigation.

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

At the Steve Bushaw murder trial, the third day on the witness stand was the final one – unless he’s called back later – for John Sylve, one of two men who confessed to the deadly February 2009 shooting.

On trial are two other men, Bryce Huber and Brandon Chaney, who are charged with first-degree murder though there’s no indication they ever fired a shot. Tuesday’s witnesses also included a woman who was at Talarico’s with Huber the night of the shooting – Super Bowl Sunday 2009 – and a woman who just happened to be at the restaurant/bar when the shooting happened outside and found herself helping tend to Bushaw’s wounds till help arrived.

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(February 1, 2009, photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
For those following our coverage of the first trial in 3 years involving a West Seattle murder case, the shooting death of Steve Bushaw on Super Bowl Sunday night 2009: Though the usual court schedule is 9 am-4 pm Mondays-Thursdays during what’s projected to be a month-or-so-long trial, the proceedings ended early today – Prosecutor Jeff Baird‘s next witness is expected to be on the stand a while, and Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque gave him the option to either start with the witness, or end for the day; he took the latter. Earlier today, the questioning of John Sylve, one of the two confessed triggermen, ended. He was followed on the witness stand by a woman who, accompanied by a friend from out of town, went to Talarico’s the night of the shooting with Bryce Huber, one of the two defendants; the day concluded with testimony from another woman who just happened to be at Talarico’s that night, heard the gunshots, and wound up helping to tend to Bushaw’s wounds before medics arrived. The next witness is expected to be a Seattle Police detective. Today’s full story, coming up later.

We’re at the King County Courthouse again today in week two of testimony in the trial of the two remaining defendants in the Super Bowl Sunday 2009 murder of 26-year-old Steve Bushaw outside Talarico’s in The Junction. Continuing his testimony again this morning (after a delay because his “street clothes” hadn’t been brought up from the jail in Kent) was John Sylve, one of the two men who pleaded guilty to firing the deadly shots. Responding to questions from prosecutor Jeff Baird, Sylve told his story of how the shooting unfolded – and the getaway, in which he says they intended to go throw guns and shell casings off the West Seattle Bridge but got lost trying to find it, and eventually changed their plan; he also says the other confessed killer, Danny O’Neal, was sure they had both missed. Court resumes in about an hour; we’ll have the full story of today’s developments later. (You can find our ongoing coverage here – newest-to-oldest.)

By Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

The King County Superior Court trial of Bryce Huber and Brandon Chaney, charged with first-degree murder in the February 2009 shooting death of lifelong West Seattleite Steve Bushaw, is in recess until Monday.

In the jury trial that could take as long as a month, three main witnesses were on the stand Thursday, including one of the admitted triggermen, John Sylve. But first:

Today’s proceedings began with a resumption of testimony from Detective Kevin O’Keefe of the Seattle Police Department’s Crime Scene Investigation Unit. Next, the state called Seattle Police Detective Mike Magan to the stand. Magan was the detective assigned to investigate a home-invasion robbery in Seattle – the aftermath of that robbery is alleged to have helped precipitate the murder.) Then, Sylve followed.

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By Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

The second day of testimony in the murder trial of Brandon Chaney and Bryce Huber began with the questioning of “Tony”, who witnessed the shooting of Steve Bushaw the night of February 1, 2009.

Following him on the witness stand Wednesday were the first two Seattle Police officers to arrive at that scene: Officer Edward Anderson answered questions, as did Officer Curtis Woo. In the afternoon, a West Seattleite named Marie testified as to what she witnessed from her location in the Junction that evening — and the day finished with Crime Scene Investigation Unit Detective Kevin O’Keefe explaining what his responsibilities were at the crime scene, what duties he and his team performed; from the stand he also explained numerous crime scene photos showing the jury what the Junction area looked like along California Avenue, and what evidence was discovered and where.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The trial of Bryce Huber and Brandon Chaney, charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Steve Bushaw, is the first West Seattle murder case to go to trial in three years. We covered the last one gavel-to-gavel and intend to do the same here. After two weeks of motions, logistics, and jury selection, the prosecution and defense both presented their opening statements today, and then the prosecution began calling witnesses. Our story tonight covers the opening statements, with witness notes to come.

By Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Veteran prosecutor Jeffrey Baird delivered the first opening statement. He began by noting the date of the deadly shooting:

“February 1st, 2009. Sunday. It was Super Bowl Sunday, the Steelers played the Cardinals, and millions watched. Two and a half years ago, after the Super Bowl, something happened in our community that was witnessed by only a few people. A young man was shot to death. The young man’s name was Steve Bushaw. He was raised in West Seattle, he’d gone to West Seattle High School. At the time of his death, he was still living with his parents in West Seattle. And he was shot to death right in the heart of West Seattle, in what locals call ‘The Junction” …

“Mr. Bushaw’s death was not an accident – he was not hit by a stray round. He was gunned down in the middle of the street, not by one but two men, both firing repeatedly at him from close range. This was not a case of self-defense. He was not armed, and did nothing to provoke them. He had never met them. This was not case of sudden rage. He’d done nothing to provoke it. It wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. He was deliberately targeted, with considerable planning and forethought.”

Baird then told the jury what sort of evidence they would be presented with, and how he believes it will tell the story, step by step.

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At the King County Courthouse this morning, the gallery in Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque’s courtroom was almost completely filled for what was anticipated to be the start of opening statements in the trial of Bryce Huber and Brandon Chaney, charged with murdering West Seattleite Steve Bushaw (right) in February 2009. Among those on hand were members of the victim’s family. Then suddenly, a surprise – a problem that, over the course of the first hour, led to one of the jurors being excused from the case. That resulted in a new mini-round of jury selection to replace him, and that took the rest of the day, with word just in that opening statements are expected to start tomorrow. The trial may last the entire month and has already gone through a variety of delays; it was on the verge of starting back in January when it was pushed back by sudden developments, including 2 other defendants deciding to plead guilty. (The backstory’s in our original report on the charges filed in fall 2009.)

At the King County Courthouse downtown, we’ve just left the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque, where jury selection is now complete for the trial of Brandon Chaney and Bryce Huber, after prospective jurors went through almost two full days of questioning. Eight women and six men comprise the fourteen-juror panel (12 jurors and two alternates) who remained in the courtroom after the rest were dismissed. Huber and Chaney are on trial for the February 2009 West Seattle shooting death of 26-year-old Steve Bushaw; two others, Danny O’Neal and John Sylve, have pleaded guilty. The trial is now in recess until 9 am Monday, when prosecutor Jeff Baird and defense lawyers Tony Savage (for Huber) and Jim Roe (for Chaney) are scheduled to begin opening statements.

MONDAY MIDDAY NOTE: Opening statements haven’t started, after all – one of the jurors had to be excused from the case, and they are going through a new pool of jurors to select a replacement. That’s expected to take the rest of the day.

Two and a half years after 26-year-old Steve Bushaw was shot dead outside Talarico’s, jury selection has begun in the murder trial of the two defendants remaining in the case. In two sessions this morning, 120 prospective jurors were brought into King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque‘s courtroom, and askedwhether serving on the jury for this trial would cause hardship. For those who were not excused in that round, questioning this afternoon (voir dire) will involve the defense and prosecution lawyers deciding who is acceptable to be seated.

Judge DuBuque has outlined a timetable for the case: Court will be in session Mondays through Thursdays, 9 am to 4 pm (except August 15-16, when it will be in recess), until the case goes to the jury, at which time they will also deliberate Fridays if necessary. It is projected to last three or four weeks before the jury gets the case. The defendants are alleged mastermind Bryce Huber and alleged getaway driver Brandon Chaney, both on trial for first-degree murder after prosecutors dropped the conspiracy charge; John Sylve and Danny O’Neal have already pleaded guilty to being the triggermen and are expected to testify. Earlier this week, it was agreed that opening statements would start next Monday, though that is of course dependent on how the rest of the jury selection process goes.

We’re at the King County Courthouse, where jury selection was supposed to start right about now for the two remaining defendants on trial for the murder of Steve Bushaw two and a half years ago, after a week of final pre-trial motions and discussion. But jury selection has just been delayed till Wednesday because of a tangled set of circumstances that made it safer, for the case’s chances of surviving any later challenges, to wait for a new pool of jurors to arrive at the courthouse. Key among the challenges today, the fact that some members of today’s overall courthouse jury pool, while waiting to go into another courtroom, might have seen deputies bringing cuffed defendants Brandon Chaney and Bryce Huber down the hall, a sight that might prejudice them if they were then “recycled” into this jury pool. So Wednesday morning at 9:15, everyone will reconvene. Prosecutor Jeff Baird proposed opening statements then be set for next Monday morning, and no one objected.

Today (Wednesday) will be Day 3 of pre-jury-selection motions and other business in the murder trial of Bryce Huber and Brandon Chaney, two of the four men charged in the February 2009 West Seattle shooting death of Steve Bushaw. (The other two have pleaded guilty and are expected to testify.) Tuesday brought about two hours of courtroom activity. Big headline: Jury selection isn’t likely to start before Monday – among other things, all sides agreed that a new group of jurors is more likely to yield people who can stay through a trial that will last weeks rather than days. Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque is asking for a pool of more than 60. Otherwise, evidence and motions were discussed on Tuesday afternoon, including cell-phone records for defendants and witnesses. Observed Huber’s lawyer Anthony Savage, “We have a three-page document here that’ll strike you blind if you try to read it.” Prosecutor Jeff Baird came with a sheaf of charts that apparently show timelines with arrows, horizontal lines, and photos, to help visualize the cell-phone trail. Then came the discussion of what evidence will be admissible – for example, the home-invasion robbery that is alleged to be the reason why Huber allegedly wanted Bushaw dead, and the marijuana dealing in which both were allegedly involved. Said prosecutor Baird: “I think everyone knows by now that marijuana is in a state of quasi-legality in Seattle, and other parts of the country, and does not rise to the level of crimes that require close police attention. I don’t think anyone would hold it against Mr. Huber or for that matter Mr. Bushaw that they happened to buy marijuana and sell it on a small scale to their acquaintances.” Proceedings are scheduled to resume at 9 this morning.