Slaying suspect caught sleeping
Leogardo Serezo Jr.'s arraignment on a second-degree-murder charge in the death of Angela Martin, 21, is scheduled today in Snohomish County Superior Court.
He waived extradition after being arrested at a Douglas County rest stop, where he was found sleeping in Martin's Ford Explorer, according to police.
A warrant carrying a $250,000 cash-only bail was issued for Serezo's arrest after Martin was found dead at their apartment last Wednesday, apparently strangled. In a search-warrant affidavit filed yesterday, authorities say Serezo tried to kill himself after Martin's death by drinking a mixture of Pine Sol and soda.
Blood tests will determine cause of kayaker's death
BELLINGHAM — Investigators say they have to wait for blood tests to determine what killed a Bellingham kayaker found floating in the Nooksack River on Friday.
It didn't clearly appear that Gustavo M. Leyva, 36, drowned in the river, and there were no signs of foul play, said Whatcom County Sheriff's officials.
A search helicopter found Leyva's body face down in the river about 3 p.m. Friday, about a mile from where a friend found his vehicle and kayak.
Police searching for man who grabbed girls in park
TACOMA — Police are seeking help to find a man who grabbed two 7-year-old girls as they walked to school Monday.
One girl broke free. The man fondled the other girl and removed some of her clothing before fleeing, apparently scared off by one girl's mother, said Tacoma police spokesman Jim Mattheis.
The incident was in Franklin Park, next to Franklin Elementary, which both girls attend.
The two girls had taken a shortcut through the park on the way to school.
They had been accompanied by one girl's mother, who could not negotiate the park trail because she was pushing another child in a stroller. When the girls did not emerge from the wooded park, the mother called for them and the man ran off.
He is white, 20 to 30 years old, 6 feet tall with yellow-blond hair.
Bystanders thwart would-be purse-snatcher in Everett
EVERETT — A man grabbed an 82-year-old woman’s purse and pushed her down but didn’t get far before a bystander pounced on him and, with two other men, held him until police arrived, officers said.
A 27-year-old Sedro-Woolley man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree robbery and on an outstanding felony arrest warrant yesterday morning, police Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.
The Sedro-Woolley woman, who asked not to be identified, said she went downtown to pay a bill and was going to a bus stop at 9:22 a.m. when a man grabbed her purse containing $27, ripped her jacket down the front and shoved her to the ground. She was treated at the scene and checked at a hospital for a bump on the head before being released.
Shayne Sandison, 22, of Everett, a former Navy seaman who is looking for a job and plans to enroll at a technical institute, said he saw the attack as he was bringing his car to Everett Tire & Automotive for a paint job.
“I waited for him to get close to my car and then I jumped on him and grabbed him in a good armlock,” Sandison said. “He was putting up a good struggle and complaining that he hadn’t done anything.”
Matt Wood, 24, and Dan Williams, 33, who work at the automotive shop, joined the fray and held the man on the ground while Sandison called police and paramedics.
Seattle teachers will get nine developmental days
SEATTLE — Seattle public-school students will go home early nine times next year under a plan that gives teachers more frequent time to work together.
In a letter sent to parents, schools Superintendent Joseph Olchefske announced the agreement with the Seattle Education Association.
The new arrangement converts two of four professional-development days into eight, two-hour blocks of time for teacher planning and training. A ninth two-hour block will be created by extending the school day by five minutes.
The early-dismissal days will be on Wednesdays.
When the district and teachers union signed a three-year contract in August, they agreed to create a committee to recommend a new schedule. The committee did not go as far as teachers sought: early student releases once a week as is done in Bellevue public schools.
Warrant issued for driver in accident that killed three
WALLA WALLA — A fugitive who ran away after a car wreck in which a Stanwood woman and two of her children died has been charged with vehicular homicide and eight other felonies.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of Jose Luis Garcia, 24, who also goes by the last name of Garcia-Mayorga. He is believed to have fled to the Portland area, but he also knows people in Walla Walla and the Tri-Cities, State Patrol Lt. Steve Sutton said.
Garcia has been identified by witnesses as the driver of a car that collided with a van on Highway 12 between Wallula and Touchet in Walla Walla County.
Suzanne Johns, 38; her son Ty, 7; and daughter Ashley, 20 months, died in the crash. Her husband, Kip Johns, 42, and his son, Mike, 13, were injured.
Information from Seattle Times staff and news services.