West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Updating 4 high-profile cases

STEVE BUSHAW MURDER TRIAL BEGINS: We’re at the King County Courthouse courtroom of Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque, where the rescheduled murder trial is starting this afternoon for the two remaining defendants in the February 2009 Junction shooting death of 26-year-old Steve Bushaw (two have already pleaded guilty). A jury has to be chosen before testimony can begin; right now, various motions are being brought up, including the prosecution’s proposal to drop the “conspiracy to commit murder” charge and leave the two defendants, Brandon Chaney and Bryce Huber, charged with first-degree murder/firearm enhancement. We’ll have a separate report on today’s proceedings later. (2:42 pm note – court has already recessed for the day.)

GATEWOOD ARSON: John C. Siegel, charged with arson and domestic violence in the June 28th fire at the Gatewood home he owned with his ex-wife, is scheduled to return to court tomorrow for a case-setting hearing, after pleading guilty last week. He remains in jail, status listed as “bail denied” (though a $1 million bail amount remains on the books for the arson charge).

FAIRMOUNT SPRINGS BURGLARY/ASSAULT: Monty Richardson, arrested two weeks ago and charged with breaking into a neighbor’s house and attacking her, was in court last week to answer the burglary, assault, and unlawful-imprisonment charges against him. He pleaded not guilty and remains in jail, with his bail still $250,000, due back in court for a case-setting hearing on July 25th.

STOLEN CAR/CAR-THEFT-TOOLS CASE: Repeat offender Skyelar Hailey remains in the Regional Justice Center jail in Kent, with bail set at $65,000, in a possession-of-stolen-vehicle/vehicle-theft-tools case we detailed here last month. He too was in court last week to plead guilty, and has a case-setting hearing set this Wednesday.

Daddy July 18, 2011 (3:38 pm)

When are people going to learn crime doesn’t pay? Especially Assaults and murder. Lesson-think before you do the crime, about how bad it’s going to suck to do the time. One decision can cost you the rest of your life. Doing life in prison is no way to live. Neither is doing 30 days, 30 months or 30 years.

luvwseattle July 18, 2011 (7:35 pm)

Thoughts are with the family. I know Steve’s mother and my heart goes out to her. I hope they go away for a very long time.

sam-c July 18, 2011 (9:55 pm)

what about the other horrible crime in WS- the murder of that vaudeville performer? is the suspect in jail?

WSB July 18, 2011 (9:59 pm)

yes, he’s still making his way through the justice system, has been in jail for five months now, bail set at $1 million. I should probably write a separate update on the murder cases – besides that one, the Roxhill Park murder suspect from last September is still in jail, $1 million, making his way through the justice system. – TR

bsmomma July 19, 2011 (9:35 am)

I find it sad that a “separate update on the murder cases” needs to be done. :(

WSB July 19, 2011 (9:40 am)

The problem with tracking court cases is that there is a whole lot of process without much really to report. We used to talk about this in my previous TV newsrooms all the time – do viewers really care to hear that murder suspect X showed up in court again, just so another date could be set for a check-in on the case? But luckily we don’t have that many to follow … I’m glad the question was asked as I sometimes lose track of cases, then remember to check the files, and that’s when I find out there’s been a plea bargain (like in the Highland Park racist-beating case, and the Alki man shot-by-police case) – while authorities are generally helpful *when asked*, they are also generally too busy to go out of their way to say “Oh hey, did you hear, we just got a plea in the XX case!” and that’s why us reporter types have to keep checking. Today’s Bushaw trial preview is almost done, BTW, for anyone interested … TR

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