Slaying Suspect's Sister Says He Fired, But Not At Girl's Car

The man suspected of shooting and killing a 9-year-old Seattle girl over the weekend told family members he did fire a gun that night, but it was to scare off a carload of people he said had rammed his car.

That differs from the description of events given by Cynthia Coston, the mother of 9-year-old Loetta Coston, who died after being shot in the back of the head.

Original reports indicated only two cars were involved in the incident. Comments from the suspected gunman's family indicate there was a third.

Here's what the sister of the suspected gunman said he told her in a telephone conversation yesterday:

Angry words were exchanged between one group of people, including her brother, and another group walking to their cars after a Cambodian New Year's party at Sharples Alternative School in southeast Seattle Saturday night.

The car allegedly carrying the other group followed the suspected gunman's vehicle, a black Mustang, bumping it several times, until the suspect, fearing for his safety, fired two shots, said the man's sister, who lives in Tacoma.

"He called this morning to say he did shoot, but not at another car," she said. "He told me he was pointing the gun away to scare the ones chasing him."

Seattle police spokeswoman Vinette Tichi said detectives have been given a similar account from at least one suspect. Police are investigating that version by examining the black Mustang for evidence of ramming or bumping, and they're continuing to interview witnesses to the shooting.

Cynthia Coston, the mother of the victim, said she was taking a friend home from another friend's house that night when she came upon a black car blocking traffic in front of Sharples in the Brighton neighborhood. She said she honked a few times and then passed the Mustang.

She said she neither saw nor heard anything unusual. She said didn't even realize anything had happened until her friend said Loetta had been shot. The little girl died three hours later at Harborview Medical Center.

Police said there was no evidence that Coston or her friend did or said anything to provoke the three men in the black Mustang.

Police stopped a black Mustang in the area shortly after the shooting and arrested the three young men inside.

The 22-year-old suspected gunman, who made his first court appearance yesterday, is being held on $500,000 cash bail for investigation of homicide. Two other men in the Mustang, a 20-year-old from Tacoma and a 25-year-old from Bakersfield, Calif., are being held in the King County Jail on $250,000 cash bail.

The suspected gunman, who came from Cambodia with his parents and six siblings eight years ago, works at a Tacoma print shop. His family said he often stayed home, sleeping, working and watching old Chinese movies.

The suspected shooter was convicted of criminal trespass in Thurston County in May 1990. That same year, he was found guilty of several traffic infractions in Tacoma Municipal Court. He also was found guilty of driving without a valid license in Seattle Municipal Court in 1989.

The other Tacoma man being held for investigation of homicide was identified as a gang member by a Kirkland police officer who arrested him last month on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

The 20-year-old man had several gang-related tattoos on his hands, including "CK" (Crip Killer) and "OG Demon" (Original Gangster Demon) and had a semi-automatic pistol with a loaded seven-round clip in a fanny pack stowed under the seat of his pickup, according to the officer's report.

The Kirkland officer, G. Eggleston, said he recognized the tattoos based on four years' experience as a gang-intelligence officer in California.

The 20-year-old suspect, born in Cambodia, was booked into the Kirkland jail March 2 and later released on bail. The man first caught the officer's attention because his 1987 truck was riding lower than legally allowed.

The man was to appear in Northeast District Court in Redmond today on the weapons charge.

The 19-year-old mother of the man's 2-year-old son said her partner quit being a gang member three or four years ago. "He's got a family now," she said.

Reached in Tacoma yesterday, the woman said she last saw him about 6:30 p.m. Saturday when he went to a party in Tacoma to celebrate the Cambodian New Year. The woman didn't go to the party, she said, but her partner danced with her sister that night.

"I expected him to come back that night," she said.

Instead, he met up with some friends and headed to another New Year's party in Seattle. "He said he was going to call me and I never heard from him," she said.

The next thing she heard was from police, who called Sunday to tell her he was in jail for investigation of homicide.

The man listed his occupation as an "apprentice" at a Kirkland company.

Lam Phan, a Bothell lawyer who represented the 20-year-old man in the Kirkland case, said he talked with the man in jail Sunday.

"He said he had a ride with those people," Phan said. "He had a ride home."

California corrections officials found no offender record for the Bakersfield man.

Ngy Hul, president of the Khmer Community of Seattle/King County, said his organization and the Cambodian-American Teachers Association sponsored the 7 p.m.-to-midnight celebration at Sharples.

Hul said a crowd of 600 to 800 mostly young people attended the party, and there were no disturbances at the event. He said he didn't know whether the three suspects were at the party or were simply drawn to the area because of the activity.