Almost a year after 59th/Admiral shooting, case close to trial

We told you recently that two of the three 2007 West Seattle murder cases both ended with plea bargains instead of trial — Brian Walsh pleaded guilty last month to a reduced charge of second-degree murder for killing “Benny” Reside at Cal-Mor Circle and is awaiting sentencing; Jabarie Phillips pleaded guilty earlier in the year to a reduced charge of manslaughter for killing Dewayne West outside West’s house at 37th/Findlay, and was sentenced last month to 13 years in prison. arrow.jpgThat leaves the case of the shooting last October 13th inside a car at 59th/Admiral (10/13/07 scene photo at left, arrow points to the car) that killed 33-year-old Francisco Bailey-Ortiz. The suspect, an Alki resident, was 17 when it happened and is now 18; we stopped identifying him when his defense labeled him a victim of child sexual abuse (detailed in our report last October 29th). He has remained in jail, though his bail was cut to $200,000, and we have continued to watch the case through a fairly standard string of hearings, continuations, legal motions, etc. Now, it looks like the case is going to trial; a date’s been set for early October, and a pretrial “omnibus” hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. We checked with the suspect’s lawyer, Robert Perez, today, to find out if there was any chance a plea bargain was in the works for this case too. His reply: “I can assure you there will be no plea bargaining in this case. (The defendant) is not a felon and he has no intention of becoming one based on the victimization that led to this tragedy. He will seek justice from a jury of his peers. The case will go to trial during the week of October 6.”

2 Replies to "Almost a year after 59th/Admiral shooting, case close to trial"

  • beachwalker September 18, 2008 (8:49 pm)

    The fact that you, the WSB, are updating us about these crimes is commendable and proof of your dedication to this neighborhood. Would we have learned this from the major newspapers or West Seattle Herald? I doubt it. Thanks WSB!

  • WSB September 18, 2008 (9:10 pm)

    You’re very welcome.

Sorry, comment time is over.