The man apparently beaten to death at 26th and Jefferson September 22 has been identified as Shaun Ansar Harris, 43.
Police were called to the scene just after 6:30 a.m. after someone reported an altercation inside a vehicle. Harris was found outside a red Mercedes-Benz convertible with a fatal head wound. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he died.
At the September 22 meeting of the East Precinct Advisory Council (EastPAC), precinct commander James Dermody said police do not believe the killing was related to the neighborhood or Garfield High School, which is one block away from the site of the attack.
According to the King County sex offender website, Harris was convicted of third degree rape in 1995. He also has a lengthy list of aliases.
Seattle Times has more information on Harris’ criminal history:
A police spokeswoman said Thursday investigators think Harris knew his attacker.
Harris’ last known address is in Federal Way, according to public records.
Court records show Harris was a Level III sex offender who had an extensive criminal history, including a number of arrests on felony drug charges. He was last arrested Aug. 24 for violating his community custody on a May 2010 drug charge and was released from the King County Jail on Sept. 12, 10 days before his death, jail records show.
——We really have no idea what happened to provoke someone to attack and kill Mr. Harris, yet we seem to have a general assuption that he was somehow the cause of his own death. How do we know that this was not some random action, and that they didn’t just happened to get this,,,, person by sheer chance? If they have no problem shooting him, what makes you think they would not have a problem shooting you, me, or someone close to us? I think we should be hoping that Seattle’s police find and capture the shooter before he/she strikes again.
——So, lets please focus on preventing additional violence, tracking down Mr. Harris’s Murderer, and remember he has to have someone that loved and will miss him. Who ever these loved ones are, I wish you peace, and the blessing of a satisfactory closure.
” remember he has to have someone that loved and will miss him”
Yes, even rapists and dope dealers have friends.
Yes your right ..he did have many friends and family and people that loved him..people make mistakes but he had a good heart..and didn’t deserve to die and really didn’t deserve to be beat to death and left on the side of the road..Maybe you need more facts before you go running off at the mouth..or should I say typing you internet gangsta
So it turns out that this neighborhood murder makes us happy? What abput all the hand-wringing and moral outrage? Who knew the containment zone reached all the way down to Federal Way?
The killing needs to stop…my heart goes out to his family.
So which one of the ‘lengthy list of aliases’ is the family and friends to mourn? I mean clearly he led an upfront and honest life right? Oh also anyone convicted of RAPE gets about zero sympathy.
i apologize in advance, if these words are a bit familiar, but i feel strongly about this. When someone is murdered in your neighborhood, it is a blight on the entire neighborhood. This man was murdered and until the culprit(s) are caught, your neighborhood is at risk. I find it disappointing that so much media coverage is being dedicated to the Amanda Knox trial. One station is even sending a reporter overseas so that the appeal verdict can be covered. Lest anyone forget, Amanda Knox has been tried and convicted. She is, for all intensive purposes, a murderess and a felon. Yet, look at the favorable media coverage she receives. A man is murdered in your neighborhood and all we can point out is someones criminal history?????? And imply that he is less deserving of justice then someoneelse? I am keeping the Harris family in my prayers and may their son rest in peace.
giannat77: It’s “for all intents and purposes.”
Amanda Knox gets press because she is clearly someone who did not receive a fair trial due to police bungling. Much like the West Memphis 3. To compare them to a sex offender with a HUGE history of violence is disingenuous. Forgive neighbors if they think that a felon and sex offender with a violent history dying a violent death in the CD, in the wee hours, is not shocking. One might have laid odds on it.
its amazing what one can overlook :) However, i have to disagree with your opinion on Amanda Knox. Unless you were an eyewitness, your statement of “not receiving a fair trial due to police bungling” is again, an opinion. Perhaps the same could be said for Mr. Harris and his crime. What dismays me, is that there was a murder, in my neighborhood. The same intensive effort for justice should be made for any/all neighborhoods. I would have to say that if you are not shocked by a violent death then i feel sorry for you. Death, especially murders are shocking. And at the end of the day, i still want to offer pryaers to the Harris family.
Your analogy with Knox is pretty strained. She was 20, no record, convicted with evidence that might serve to execute a black man under Rick Perry, but would not see the light of day in most of this country. It is newsworthy because she is a local who was lynched in the Italian press, and the Italians hate her, for some reason.
What does this have to do with the current victim, who led a life of crime and violence, and not surprisingly died as he lived? Who cares that it happened in the neighborhood, as long as it was not connected to the neighborhood? “Blight on the neighborhood” – you are concerned because it makes us look bad? Of course the perp should be prosecuted, but he is probably not too different from the victim. If the perp had lost this fight, you would be anxious to put Harris in jail instead.
i dont want to cyber argue abuot the Knox case. It is clear that we all have a difference of opinion, and thats ok, thats what makes the world go round :) I do wish for peace for this family. Regardless of the sons criminal history, it is still a loss for this family. Ask any family, that has a bad apple, the love doesnt stop. I am not concerned about making “us” look bad. I am concerned because this is where i live and i wish that this situation merited a bit more concern. Prayers for all families that have lost a member, be it to death, or an unfair justice system as i am sure there are many people out there that can benefit from this request.
Man. You goobs going on bout manda nockers is more offensive than anything judkinsbum says. Also funny to see the backlash w/o the inspiration. Big tears for the violent end of a crime spree.
OMG…I cannot believe this…I know him…People make mistakes…check the dates on his criminal history…..did they say he had a warrant? no guess that means he probably served his time for his crimes…gee..well I guess that still isn’t good enough..this is sort of like Alice in Wonderland stuff.. off with his head..I am so sorry for any of his family that they never read any of this..including his kids…He might of been living wrong but when does that add up to deserving to die…Some people are really sad..
This guy with a “good heart” just so happens to have been convicted of rape and multiple felonies. Try telling that to the rape victim, I’m sure s/he would vehemently disagree as do I. Talk about delusion, we’re not taking about this guy having a rap sheet of misdemeanors here.
Umm yes I understand that his rape victime has every reason to hate him..since it happened in 1995..however that is not the point at this tim..nor is it the reason that he was killed…nor was he killed for his rap sheet…but then hey why dont we just kill off everyone who has ever committed a crime…bet you would be the only one living huh..”perfect” hope you have a long wonderful life and god have mercy on your soul..
Irrelevant facts abound, the date of the rape has nothing to do with him being killed. And how do you know that wasn’t the reason he was killed? If you know the killer and his/her motives, I’m pretty sure you should be spending more time down at the precinct handing over information rather than defending yet another convicted felon on this site. Second, how do you know it wasn’t because of his rap sheet? Very peculiar that you know so much about this murder yet feel the need to lambast people on this site questioning the victims prior life. No where in my reply did I say he deserved to die or that people who commit crimes should have the same fate.
Curious – do you have kids? What if your daughter was raped? Would sentencing a guy for 5 years be ample punishment for that kind of torment? I can imagine rape stays with a victim and their family the rest of their life – no sentence for the rapist is every going to erase those memories. Did he have his life turned around? Possibly? Does it seem like an isolated incident? Hardly.
LOrd Jesus
I do not know anything about his death..Your comments above made a reference to his rape and felonies..being somewhat related to him having a good heart… I just made the comments back to u.about what does that have to do with what happened??.I know him…and like I said no one deserves to be killed like that..period..I was a rape victim myself…I was a 15 year old virgin….and do I wish that guy dead??? no..because you know what? that does not help with what happened..so let us stay on the subject and focus on that some people loved Shaun and somehow he is no longer here..simple facts
about what happened and who the suspects are in this case would be welcome.
it doesnt seem like there is much info being released to the public on the suspects or what happened. I hope that this investigation is still being followed as closely as when it first happened.
Great, now there is glass all over the sidewalk and street. Would the creators of the shrine please be responsible and clean up the litter.
My his victims find peace.
This discussion has no basis. Lovers and haters of this man are referring to him as a victim as if we know he was murderred. It is equally likely that he was in fact the aggressor/perpatrator of another act of rape, robery, or ripoff that he has so frequently been commiting lately. I would suggest that he lost to a self defending victim or the brother of one of his rape victims.
We continue to see violent serial criminals getting what comes naturally to this type of individual. We needed wish it on anyone, but, we must accept that if your out there raping and robing – somebody is going to come after you. It’s only natural.
Nothing you say here related to “simple facts” – it’s all conjecture.
Here are the facts:
1. He was a convicted rapist
2. He had varying degrees of felonies
3. He was found dead in his car after and altercation
4. He was last arrested less than 6 weeks ago for violating community custody
Now I know what they say about assumptions but this doesn’t sound like a guy trying to “turn his life around.” Moreover, it just looks like another crime gone bad. Call me crazy.
Out of all due respect for the deceased. I think it was inappropiate to put peoples prior convictions in the news. When a person dies, their past history is irrevelent. That should be for all people. It’s bad enough for his/her grieveing family to be reminded of the terrible things that happened, when they are trying to lay to rest their beloved family member.
Shaun was a beautiful person who made a mistake, who are we to judge?
Angie
“Shaun was a beautiful person who made a mistake, who are we to judge?”
Hey Angie you meant to say “mistakes” not “mistake.” Get it right. Shaun was a Level III sex offender who had an extensive criminal history, including a number of arrests on felony drug charges.
Sorry but I don’t consider rapist druggie sex offending repeat felons to be “beautiful people.”
for what you what stated. It is worth repeating. Mr. Harris is dead. Rumors may abound as to why/how. He also has family members that are grieving. For those reasons alone pray for peace for his family.
I posted a comment, not here?
I find it rather appalling that some people here feel the need to defend a man that, probably by his own doing and misdeeds, has left this earth. I can only assume that one of his crimes (of which, it sounds like he had many) led to his demise and therefore am not certain we should be praising his life and painting him some sort of saint. While I certainly feel remorse for his loved ones, there is no disguising how troubled his life was and the bad decisions he made. But to say that once a man is deceased all his sins are wiped clean is absurd, almost offending. So the genocide committed by a man like Hitler should be forgotten since he’s dead (as far as we know)? I doubt anyone would paint a madman like Hitler as just, “making a mistake.” Spade a spade.
Really? Hitler?
Eyes, you are not being censored. Give it a rest. You say the same thing over and over again while telling anyone who thinks differently to take their head out of their ass. I guess it makes sense that a guy who rallies for his neighbors to file a class action lawsuit would think he was being censored on CDN. LOL. Can you say “delusional thinking”?
Did you look over in the other thread on the same topic? I think that is where your containment zone/where-is-the-outrage diatribe is located.
I wanted to know what a “Level 3” sex offender meant and I found it on the King County Sheriff Office website. “Level 3 offenders are considered to have a high risk to re-offend. They usually have one or more victims and may have committed prior crimes of violence. They may not know their victim(s). The crime may show a manifest cruelty to the victim(s) and these offenders usually deny or minimize the crime. These offenders commonly have clear indications of a personality disorder.”
Sounds to me like the man had a host of organic problems and was self-medicating with street drugs.
And I will say it over and over. Why are you in denial and write the same assinie attack on my concerns? You like living in a social cesspool? Or do you have some sort of vested interest. Get your head out of your ass JR and look around.
L.O.L.!!
They likely don’t have any suspects. It seems they never do. I hear about shootings and beatings and thefts, but rarely about arrests. :(
“All else” hasn’t failed but of course the easy way out would be to pinpoint one aspect of my retort. Since you still don’t fully comprehend what I’m saying, let me paraphrase for you:
~you: although convicted of rape and felonies, he’s a good guy that deserves remorse
~me: disagree
~you: his crimes had nothing to do with his death (conjecture) and when you die all your past sins are abolished
~me: so someone who’s committed a number of crimes (most of which had motive and are heinous), someone who everyone knows to be evil – Hitler – is free of all misdeeds committed during his lifetime because, well, he’s deceased
Sound about right JR?
In Texas, the age of consent is 17. We have a case here of an 18 year old man with a 16 year old girlfriend. When he was arrested for “sexual assault of a child,” they admitted to three consensually sexual encounters over several months of their relationship. Texas views that as three counts of sexual assault, which places him in the level-3 risk category.
A level 3 ranking does not automatically and always mean this is someone dangerous, just as inclusion on the registry does not mean that.
Regardless – you don’t get convicted of multiple felonies if you’re simply misunderstood. As much as I believe in innocent until proven guilty, this guy has his chances…and failed. How many chances should he get?
Kind of scary that JR not only agrees with rape but also seems to be endorsing it by encouraging people to forgive these kind of crimes. I think people need to be more hateful of “bad” people and not endorse stuff like this. It is almost as bad as buying music that talks about killing, raping, drugs, etc.
Jomama is running behind the times. Your antiquated social construct of laws defining sexuality as rape and the rest of this western/eastern religiopolicy is garbage.
The concept of the life that is brutish and short is now in vogue. Rape and thuggery is art and social simplicity done to perfection. Life is what you can take of it.
The CD is not a containment zone – it is the breeding ground of our next leap forward as free humans.
Everyone has there opinion but you should never put judgement toward someone you don’t know..just because there is rumors and everyone wants to listen to them doesn’t mean they are always true.. I knew shaun he had a very big heart and did alot for me and my child.. You guys can sit here and talk all the crap you want bout someone who isnt even here to defend himself but for all of us who truly knew shaun knows how much of a great man he was.. Shaun may have has a bad criminal history but who cares we all aren’t perfect we all make mistakes and trust me for the mistakes he did he served his time…you guys need to get a life instead of sitting her talking shit bout someone whos life was taken over some bs… To the harris family you are in my thoughts and prayers and I wish you guys the best of luck that they find the bastard that did this to him.
Interesting…at the age of 13, I was threatened by Shaun (“pull up for skirt or I’ll shoot”) as he pointed a pellet gun towards myself and 2 others. About 10 minutes later, I found myself running through the street yelling and screaming with blood flying on my uniform blouse. He shot me and ended an eight year gymnastics career. Perhaps if files had been charged back then, signs would have been shown. I would never wish death upon anyone but, I strongly believe in KARMA.
Well I am sorry to say that some of the JR comments are not mine..I Do not condone rape
Victim I am truly sorry for what happened to you and your right.
But I also amd a person of God and it is not my place to judge anyone was the original reason for my post Jomama and all others who attacked