Police arrest suspect in 2008 killing of Quincy Coleman

Police have made an arrest in the 2008 Halloween slaying of Quincy Coleman near Garfield High School. D’Angelo Saloy, 20, was arrested Monday morning on suspicion of the crime, according to police.

Coleman’s death at only 15 shocked the neighborhood and prompted in part the creation of the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, which works with youth in gangs and at-risk youth in an attempt to mentor them away from violence and hook them up with services they need.

Coleman’s name came up many times at a community discussion about violence earlier this month, held on the same block where Coleman was shot. The effects of a violent death of such a young person in the neighborhood is still being felt nearly four years later.

Saloy has not yet been charged with the crime, but Seattle Police released a lengthy statement with his name and details of the events leading to the arrest (UPDATE: He was charged Tuesday with First Degree Murder).

From SPD:

When D’Angelo Saloy walked out of the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton this morning—after serving a year  for unlawful possession of an AK-47, and assaulting an officer—detectives were waiting to put him right back in handcuffs.

Detectives arrested and booked Saloy, 20, for the murder of Quincy Coleman, who was fatally shot outside of Garfield High School in 2008 on Halloween night.

Saloy’s arrest came after an arduous four year investigation, driven by a slow trickle of information from witnesses about Coleman’s murder, polygraphs of possible suspects, searches by police divers, and surveillance, which captured Saloy urinating on a memorial for Coleman.

Coleman’s violent death was one of several in 2008 attributed to an ongoing feud between south end and Central District gangs, which ultimately led to the city’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative.

Around 9:30 pm on Halloween night, Coleman and a group of his friends were standing behind Garfield, near the school’s baseball field, when a silver Ford Taurus sped down 25th Avenue and pulled up near the group.

Saloy opened fire from the back seat of the car, striking Coleman twice in the back and one of Coleman’s friends in the wrist and abdomen.

Coleman collapsed in a stairwell behind Garfield and died at the scene. His friend was taken to Harborview, and survived the shooting.

Over the next four years, Saloy admitted to several people—who later told police—he had shot Coleman in a rage over the death of a friend, Pierre Lapointe, who was shot and killed near Rainier and Graham in August 2008.

Coleman and the other man wounded in the shooting were both members of Central District gangs, while Saloy and LaPointe were members of the Down With the Crew gang from the south end.

Saloy—who took on the street name “Killa Casper” after Coleman’s death—also shared details about the shooting with friends, down to what caliber guns were used that night, and how he had ditched the guns at Mt. Baker Beach Park. Police divers later found four guns in the lake near the park, one of which matched the type of weapon used to kill Coleman.

During the investigation into Coleman’s death, police learned Saloy had made a visit to the site of the shooting, where he stopped to urinate on a memorial for Coleman outside of the school.

Saloy is being held at the King County Jail for investigation of homicide.

14 thoughts on “Police arrest suspect in 2008 killing of Quincy Coleman

  1. We need more of this, seriously, I remember this time so well…I am glad people stepped up and spoke up. If this kid is guilty, I hope they lose the key after they lock him up.

  2. I’ll probably get a lot of feedback on this but really, what does justice look like prosecuting a kid who was 16 when he shot a rival associate 15 year-old? Have to admit that when I saw this I was happy that there was some accountability – this murder tore up the kids at Garfield, let alone Quincy Coleman’s family. Sounds like the perpetrator kid had little to no upbringing from how he’s depicted; in contrast to the kid who was murdered – who was loved by his family, his friends and his classmates. Glad that the police cared enough to stick with this one, figure it out and did the hard work to make the case. RIP Quincy Coleman and love to his family who are going to have to relive that horrible time again throughout the trial.

  3. I’m devastated to hear that this young man was 16 when he chose to shoot Quincy. It makes me sick to think about everything about this situation: the forces that went into shaping this young man, the choice he made on that day, the life he took, and that his life is pretty much over.

    And I’m also sure that those who knew and loved Quincy are relieved to have resolution.

  4. “Sounds like the perpetrator kid had little to no upbringing from how he’s depicted; in contrast to the kid who was murdered”

    “Coleman and the other man wounded in the shooting were both members of Central District gangs, while Saloy and LaPointe were members of the Down With the Crew gang from the south end.”

    Sounds like neither upbringing prevented them from turning to gangs.

  5. The fact of the matter is BOTH Quincy Coleman and Dangelo Saloy were gang members. It could have JUST AS EASILY been Quincy that shot Dangelo. The CD and Southend rival gangs has been an ongoing problem for a long time now. People want to talk about how Dangelo must have been raised but the same goes for Quincy as he was also an active gang member! The fact of the matter is the community needs to step up when they see these young men AND women hanging out, running the streets and not wait until a tragedy such as this only to point fingers & talk crap. DO SOMETHING! GET INVOLVED! BE A MENTOR! DONATE TO PROGRAMS THAT HELP AT RISK YOUTH! COACH A TEAM! Make sure our youth don’t end up in gangs to begin with. Help get funding so these kids are able to be involved in positive activities! Regardless if you have children or not, WE ALL ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES!!!!!

  6. Me and my dog go out and mark the territory. We keep the bangers at a few blocks distance. Ya’ll oughta do the same. It’s my hood. Just bought a new blue hoody and some bling to stick it in the face o da bloods and BGD and stupid Hoovers.

  7. A reflection of society. If we surround ourselves with violence that is what we will emulate. As 15 year olds, how much choice do they have in their environment? Still, that is no excuse for their actions. Surely they knew it was wrong, just justified it somehow. Open and closed case of safer streets that sadly involved teenagers.

  8. This is happening in a small subset of our society. It is happening where the residents allow and encourage it to happen. On average, we in the CD are gutless patsies unwilling to take a stand against violence, drugs, and failure. We talk a good line about helping out, but, I’m not seeing much of it. Sure you can point to some shining examples of hope. But hope don’t cut it. Until a large percent of the population actually engages the problem from some angle – we get more of the same. Folks here will hang onto the blame game and excuses. I don’t see progress coming anytime soon. We may as well put up scoreboards and enjoy the shoot out. Will somebody please set up a hotdog stand?

  9. I know this family, and I can tell you this kid did not stand a chance. It was never a matter of if, but when. There was never an ounce of supervision from the time he was able to walk, and no discipline or accountability. He also had no positive role models; the men in his extended family also had criminal records and numerous prison sentences. Sad but his future was foreseeable. I can’t believe his mother and others in his family did not know of his crime; I’m not even close and heard it through the grapevine several years ago that he was bragging about killing someone. The only difference in the story was that he said he shot the boy in the face, not the back. Like I said, no family direction, guidance, discipline or accountability. Don’t blame this on society, blame it on poor parenting skills and a lifetime of “hood mentality”.

  10. This persom does NOT know this family. This boy was raised in poverty with a single mother of 5 children. As he got older she tried to do things to control his behavior but there’s only so much a parent can do. As for the males in the family that have “records” you know NOTHING about them at ALL. Do you know that one of those men you speak of is an upstanding member of society? That he has a family and has been married for 8 1/2 years. Do you know that he’s been working at the same job for 7+ years and probably contributes more to society the your coward self. Take a look in the mirror. Do you know that the other man you speak of has been ACTIVELY involoved in D’Angelo’s life and been one of the sole supporters of his mother and his siblings? You dont KNOW this boy OR his family at ALL. And just so where clear I don’t know if D’Angelo did this or not, but Quincy was no Angel and was well known to SPD for his gang affiliations and other crimes. Live by the sword DIE by the sword. The streets got the jump on him, who know’s what Quincy did that he was not caught for, I’m not saying he deserved to die, NO ONE deserves to die ESPECIALLY that young and it is very sad. But you need to GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT! Also remember this happend 4 years ago D’Angelo was a young boy not the adult “slaying a child” that the media is making it out to be. If he did it at all, which I don’t believe because UNlike “saw it coming” I DO KNOW this family

  11. Children are watching too much gang crap on tv. The TV is used for the dumbing down of America! It is used by the social engineers to sell on stupidity! Parents are too busy trying to make ends meet, because the social engineers have shipped out all the good jobs out (NAFTA lies), now they have to work two jobs. If you’re able to get your child through high school that’s good, but the military recruiters will be there to snatch them off to be in their gang to police the world and force our ways on people who don’t like our ways-ways that we don’t even like. Stealing other people’s natural resources in the guise of humanitarian efforts. The sophisticated gang banger are using drones…There were NO WMD! Why are we using drones on people in Syria, Lybia, Uganda? Nobody is questioning this when a black president is doing it…Our society is messed up, where the head leads the tail will follow!

  12. Quincy was a fifteen year old kid. Whether or not he was in a gang, or had been in a gang, it doesn’t matter. He was a kid who deserved to have a future like any other kid. He has a family that loves him and feels his loss every single day. He did not deserve to die alone in a stairwell. No one does. If D’Anglo did kill him, then I’m sorry that a sixteen year old kid was in a place where taking a life was a reasonable solution for him, and I hope he will face the appropriate penalty, and I hope even more that this can ease even a little of the pain that Quincy’s family feels. But the truth is that no one has won in this situation, except maybe violence. Instead of blaming, how about start addressing social inequalities, finding support for single mothers, helping families who are struggling, creating a world where violence isn’t an option.

    Tomorrow it will be four years since Quincy died. I will be lighting a candle for him and his family.

  13. Indeed. a fifteen year old kid did derserve more out of life than a bullet.

    It does matter that he was in a gang. The gang killed him. We must drive the gangs out. We must adopt zero tolerance for gangsters.