I just got back from a press conference at SPD headquarters where they confirmed the arrest of Rey Alberto Davis-Bell for the series of shootings yesterday at the Philly Cheese Steak restaurant at 23rd & Union and on Delridge in West Seattle, which resulted in the death of Degene Barecha, the restaurant’s owner, and the serious wounding of a customer at the store.
Yesterday afternoon Seattle Police, state police, and various federal agencies launched a large-scale manhunt for the suspect, including stationing detectives and other police units at a variety of locations where they thought Davis-Bell might be located. One of those stake-outs paid off this morning at 11:16am when officers saw the suspect in the backyard of a house they were monitoring in the 3700 block of South Cloverdale near Rainier Beach in South Seattle. Police made contact with the suspect and ended up in a foot pursuit after him for about three blocks, during which the suspect shed several pieces of clothing along the way. He was apprehended and arrested in the 3900 block of S. Kenyon.
Davis-Bell will be booked later today for investigation of homicide, investigation of 1st degree assault, and attempted murder.
Police said they are still working under the assumption that both the shooting on Delridge in West Seattle, and the murder at 23rd & Union were related to domestic violence. However, the Seattle Times has a very good article where they report that Davis-Bell was a known gang member who had attempted to sell drugs to customers at the restaurant, and had previous confrontations with the restaurant’s owner who was actively trying to clean up the area around his business. The Times also quotes an employee of the restaurant who said that the 2nd victim was just a customer who was shot as he tried to flee the violence in the store.
Police also spoke about a third shooting incident that happened in the Rainier Valley around 12:45 pm yesterday, an hour and a half after the shooting at 23rd & Union. Evidently an off-duty patrol officer heard several shots fired and spotted a vehicle leaving the area that matched the description of Davis-Bell’s car. However, he was in his personal vehicle and was not able to make a pursuit.
Kudos to Seattle Police who took a dangerous felon off the street just 24 hours after he allegedly murdered one man and injured another.
In an effort to help prevent these types of terrible events from continuing I’d like to organize an effort to install and make publicly available a free community camera system. If you are a business on 23rd and Union willing to host the camera system from your rooftop please contact me directly at [email protected] for further information. I’m a motivated resident of the area, a fan of Philly’s Cheese Steak, and a streaming media expert. -Andrew
If you can’t find someone right at 23rd & Union, my neighbor on 22nd & Union has an unobstructed view of the corner of 23/Union and may be willing to host the camera. We’ve actually talked about it before becuase we have a lot of activity that spills over to our street.
I’d like to pose the question as to why there isn’t greater and more frequent police presence around as well. Spend some time in the more snooty neighborhoods like Queen Anne and Madison Park as I do on a daily basis. You’ll see police cars circulating the streets much more frequently. It seems that there are proportionately more police in those small areas. Yesterday, I was doing some work in Madison Park and saw 6 police cars parked at the Starbucks and saw all of the officers drinking coffee. The Tully’s on 19th down south on Capitol hill? There are frequently mutiple police cars parked outside. Don’t get me wrong, police are entitled to taking breaks, but why don’t they frequent the new businesses trying to make a go in areas like the CD? It would not only support the businesses, but put more police in our neighborhood just driving around. I drive by 23rd and Union daily and see large groups of young men loitering. I think that the businesses would like some support and backup. These groups aren’t doing anything but keeping customers away, and as stated in the article about the arrest, Rey and his buddies even approached customers INSIDE the philly cheese steak restaurant to sell drugs.
this is just heart breaking. this owner is just trying to do the right thing and here comes these ignorant bastards who think they just run everything. im glad the central is being fixed up nicely as it is. i used to live in the CD on yesler and 30th and was witness to all kinds of drug activities, even in my own house sometimes. its ridiculous. being a black man, i actually feel safer now that there are more white people in the area and the property value is going up. it is sad to say that but i believe it to be true. but also there was a scheme behind moving all the blacks out of the CD and i am ey ewitness to that too. too many o fmy friends fell in the game trying to sell drugs and got caught up. i LOVE phillys best but all them guys that stand out front literally dont have anywhere else to go. that is their life. i just wish that my people knew how to appreciate the life they have and not hold eachother back but then get mad and blame the white man for the problems. pity.
i want to see the cd as diverse as possible but also safe. any thoughts on what i said hit me at [email protected]
I lived in LA for years, all the news is about gangs and drive by shootings. Gang members kill people for fun. The under 18 do it knowing they won’t be tried as adults. Communities need to have zero tolerance for gangs. It is like having terrorists in your area.
[email protected],
I am disturbed by what you say, “i actually feel safer now that there are more white people in the area and the property value is going up. it is sad to say that but i believe it to be true”. Approximately fifty years ago and still today, white people are not concerned with living next to you. I am a recident of the Central Area for over 11 years, and witness the gentrification taking place everyday. Yes, I am glad our area is changing, but, at what cost? Certainly not for the better of blacks. Unfortunately, there are pockets of illegal activity happening throughout this community. But, if these pockets of illegal activity took place in white neighborhoods do you think the media would be so consumed over where the crime happened or who committed the crime? Wake up! The only reason everyone is so concerned with where this crime took place is because it’s in an area that is being controlled by the people who you say you “feel safe around”. Drugs, crime, and illegal activity can only take place unless it is given the o.k. by white people at the higher political level.