3 charged in soldier's death present at previous killing
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Three young men from Maple Valley, charged in the shooting death of a Fort Lewis soldier, were present at a party more than a year ago in which an 18-year-old Maple Valley man was beaten and killed with a baseball bat.
The three - Alexander Bremmeyer, 17; Miles Skagen, 18; and Gabriel Acena, 20 - remain in custody as they wait to enter pleas to charges of murder and assault in the killing of Patrick Franz, a 20-year Fort Lewis soldier, and the wounding of a bystander in Seattle in the first few hours of New Year's Day.
Bremmeyer was charged in King County Superior Court with first-degree murder and assault. Skagen and Acena were charged with one count each of second-degree murder and assault. Because a gun was used in the crimes, the charges include what's known as a gun-enhancement charge, which carries an additional five years on conviction.
Bail was set at $1 million for Bremmeyer, who is charged as the shooter. Acena and Skagen are being held on $500,000 bail.
All three young men were at a teen party last year at which their friend, Robert Brosa, then 18, used a baseball bat to beat 17-year-old Timothy Rodriguez to death.
Brosa was sentenced to more than three years in prison for second-degree manslaughter in the killing.
According to the King County prosecutor and court documents, Bremmeyer, Skagen and Acena were at that party. Bremmeyer and Skagen testified against Brosa. Alan Caple-Payreder, Rodriguez's stepfather, said he was shocked to learn of Bremmeyer and Skagen's possible involvement in a murder case.
"They were friends with Timmy - but they were headed for trouble," said Caple-Payreder. "I imagined they would get in trouble with alcohol and drugs, but murder - that never crossed my mind. What a tragic waste of life."
Prosecutor James Konat, who handled the baseball-bat slaying, will prosecute the three suspects in Franz's death.
Prosecutors alleged that four young men, including Bremmeyer's older brother Andrew, were near the Seattle Center partying with thousands of others on New Year's Eve.
There was a loaded weapon in the trunk of their car, driven by an unidentified young woman.
At 12:40 a.m. Franz was walking to his car in the 600 block of Denny Way after watching the Space Needle fireworks show. He was greeting many revelers with a "Happy New Year." When he said it to the defendants, prosecutors allege Skagen responded with profanity and started a fight with Franz.
Authorities said one defendant told a homicide detective that the three men have been friends for years and "whatever they do, I stay by them, even if it is wrong."
Once the fight broke out with Franz, all three men joined in, punching and kicking the soldier while someone held him down. A videotape of the incident, taken by a witness filming the fireworks show, depicts Franz covering his face from the repeated kicks and punches until several people from the crowd stopped the fight.
The suspects then jumped into a green Chevy Impala and attempted to escape, but the congestion kept them from going far. According to witnesses and the videotape, Franz got up and walked toward the car. He knocked on the window as Acena jumped out on the other side and fetched a gun from the trunk. Witnesses say Skagen loaded the gun, then handed it to Bremmeyer.
Audio of the videotape and witnesses say Franz saw what was happening and asked, "So what are you going to do?... Shoot me?"
Witnesses say Bremmeyer said yes, aimed the gun and fired six rounds.
Franz was hit five times - three in the back and twice in the shoulder. A bystander, Mikeal Hendrix, was shot in the abdomen but is recovering.
School officials confirm that Bremmeyer was expelled from Tahoma High School last year. Skagen graduated from Maple Valley High School, an alternative program for non-traditional students. Acena attended Tahoma and Maple Valley high schools.