SEATTLE — A man accused of killing someone in a fight stemming from a car accident has been officially charged in King County court.
The incident unfolded in the early hours of Sunday morning in Seattle’s White Center neighborhood.
Police were called to an area near Whateke Sports Bar on 16th Ave. SW around 12:40 a.m. for reports of a shooting.
While the dispatch call was going out, shots could be heard in the background.
When they arrived, they found a 52-year-old down on the ground who appeared to have been shot in the abdomen. Another person had run into Whateke with a gunshot wound to the shoulder and back.
Both were sent to Harborview Medical Center, but the man who had been shot in the abdomen later died from his injuries.
He was identified as James Sears. His son was the other person shot.
The 23-year-old accused shooter, Augustino Palepale Jr., was found at the scene and taken into custody without incident.
He told police that he was with his two cousins that whole night, and that he followed them to White Center, according to documents. The suspect told officers that it appeared one of his cousins fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a parked car.
According to court documents, Palepale told his cousin: “Hey, we got to go. Wake up, get up.”
He said that when he tried to wake his cousin up, two men were also trying to grab the sleeping man and took his keys. The suspect told officers that one of them threatened to beat him up and shoot him, according to court documents.
Palepale said that he then took out a Glock from his car’s front console.
A witness heard Sears say “you ain’t going to shoot my son” while trying to get the gun away from Palepale.
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Documents say Palepale began firing multiple shots, hitting Sears at close range, and hitting Sears’ son in the shoulder as he ran away.
Palepale has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree assault.
Prosecutors asked that bail be set at $2 million, saying “the defendant is a likely failure to appear and liekly to commit a future violent offense.”