Suspect Defends Bellevue Shooting -- Bothell Man Says He Acted In Self-Defense

A 19-year-old Bothell man was making lifetime plans when he quit his job at a Kirkland Burger King Friday. He was about to start a new, better-paying job. Marriage and a new baby were on the way.

Later that night he was arrested on investigation of second-degree homicide in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Gregory Stitz of Bellevue following a traffic dispute on eastbound state Highway 520 in Bellevue.

According to police, the man said Stitz followed him on 520 just after 10 that night for no apparent reason, blocked him in when he pulled into an apartment complex, and had to be shot twice with a shotgun when he threatened the suspect with a flashlight.

After spending the weekend in the King County Jail, the Bothell man was released yesterday but will return to court tomorrow, when he will likely find out if charges will be filed by the King County prosecutor's office.

"We're extremely optimistic . . . the prosecutor will decide not to file charges," said Bill Fligeltaub, the man's attorney.

"Isn't that amazing," said Richard Stitz, who drove up from Eugene, Ore., early Saturday after hearing of his son's death. "Somebody can shoot a man on Friday and be out on their own recognizance by Monday."

The suspect, who was driving an old Cadillac, told police that Stitz, who was in a 1976 Chevrolet pickup, began flashing his lights and following him.

Bellevue police Detective Dale Foote says the big unanswered question is what happened when the suspect pulled off 520 and into the parking lot of the Bellevue Pointe apartment complex at 154th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 18th Street.

"We have ear witnesses who heard the dispute, but nobody who saw it," one Bellevue police official said.

The suspect, who has no previous criminal record, said he was trying to make it to a friend's apartment but was blocked by Stitz, who drove up behind him and tried to pull him out of his car. He said he loaded his shotgun and got out the passenger side, warning Stitz to stay away.

The man said Stitz taunted him, yelling at him to go ahead and shoot.

Stitz, who worked at Pacific Circuits in Redmond and attended elementary school on the Eastside before moving to Eugene with his family, wasn't that stupid, says his father.

"That isn't Greg's personality," said Richard Stitz. "Greg had been in the Army, in Germany for a few years. He knew guns. He never owned a gun, but he had an extremely high IQ. He would never mistake a shotgun. . . ."

Police say Stitz had been drinking before confronting the Bothell man.

A manager at the Burger King store in Kirkland who knew the suspect said she talked to him by phone from jail yesterday. He's not the kind of person who would kill a man in cold blood, she said.

"He's got a little baby on the way, and he was really excited about that," said the manager, who asked not to be identified.

The Bothell man said he was afraid of Stitz when he fired twice, hitting him in the leg and chest. Stitz died early Saturday morning in a Bellevue hospital.

"How does one who is supposed to be frightened be cool enough to load a 12-gauge in the car, first with birdshot, then with gunshot?" Richard Stitz wonders.

According to the suspect's attorney, the man began carrying the shotgun after being threatened while a student at Renton High School.

Although police say the gun had a short barrel and a handgrip, it was a legal weapon. State law, however, prohibits the weapon to be loaded in a car.

Bellevue police are asking anyone with information on the case to call 455-6917.

Services for Stitz will be at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Green's Funeral Home in Redmond.

"After that, we're going to take Greg home with us to Eugene for burial," Richard Stitz said. "At least I'll be close to him."