[Previously, on this case, at WEJB/NSU:
“Seattle: White Devoted Father of 2 Young Children, Civically Engaged Software Engineer, Justin Ferrari, 43, Killed by Black Shooter as He Drives by Casual Gunfight; Dies in His Father's Arms”; and
“Seattle: (Bloods?) Suspect in Crossfire Killing of Justin Ferrari Arrested; Seattle Times Refuses to ID Him, but That Has an Upside.”]
By Nicholas Stix
In the face of racist blacks closing the black wall of silence around the black killer of white Justin Ferrari on May 24, detectives from the Seattle PD did extraordinary investigative work, in bringing in suspect Andrew Jermain Patterson, but someone at the Seattle Times newspaper is intent on sabotaging the case, and endangering the lives of the witnesses on whom it hangs. Are people at the Times trying to get witnesses murdered, and protect a craven killer?
In the following report, the Times’ writers and editors go out of their way to drop one pregnant clue after another, as to the identity of the case’s main witnesses, including one witness’ street name, such as to make it child’s play for the killer and his friends to identify them. The killer and allies could then either murder the witnesses or intimidate them out of truthfully testifying, thereby destroying the prosecution’s case.
There is no innocent explanation for what the Times has done.
In the newspaper’s earlier story on Patterson’s arrest, while it inexcusably refused to name him, it did print a wealth of information about him, including his juvenile arrest history. I suspected that the refusal to name him was coupled with the revelations about his juvenile record. Did a racist newsroom enforcer demand that the paper aid and abet Patterson, as payback for the previous revelations? In today’s affirmative action/diverse newsroom, anything is possible.
Another disturbing aspect of the case is the charging of the suspect. According to the report below, the worst sentence Jermain Patterson can face is 15-23 years behind bars. But as some Times commenters point out, the shooter murdered Ferrari while attempting to murder a different man. Murder committed while committing another felony (attempted murder of the intended victim) is felony murder, for which the traditional sentence is either “life” in prison or the death penalty, depending on the jurisdiction. In many jurisdictions, a killer can get more time for a manslaughter conviction.
Reporter Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com
John de Leon
Assistant Metro Editor - Crime, Justice
jdeleon@seattletimes.com
(425) 745-7845
Mark Higgins
Metro Editor
mhiggins@seattletimes.com
(206) 515-5638
Kathy Best
Managing Editor
kbest@seattletimes.com
(206) 464-3337
Suki Dardarian
Managing Editor
sdardarian@seattletimes.com
(206) 464-2791
David Boardman
Executive Editor
dboardman@seattletimes.com
(206) 464-2205
Phone numbers
Main: (206) 464-2111
Newsroom: (206) 464-2200
Newsroom fax: (206) 464-2261
Mailing address: PO Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111
Street address: 1000 Denny Way, Seattle WA 98109
How police broke the case in slaying of Madrona dad
Friday, July 20, 2012 at 10:17 p.m.
Comments (98)
Andrew Jermain Patterson, the man accused of fatally shooting software engineer Jason [sic] Ferrari at a Seattle intersection in May, has been charged with second-degree murder and is being held on $2 million bail.
By Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times
Most Popular Comments
Way to go pounding the pavement! Well done. (July 20, 2012, by ksea1) MORE
That was some nice work! (July 20, 2012, by MrsSmith) MORE
Nice work fellas. Now this low life scumbag can get what he deserves in a court of law... (July 20, 2012, by eagleswin) MORE
The man who shot Justin Ferrari on May 24 was outside a corner store with several other men when one called him an insulting name, according to witnesses quoted in court documents.
In response, Andrew Jermain Patterson pulled a gun and fired, say charging documents filed Friday in King County Superior Court.
Patterson aimed at the man who insulted him, prosecutors say, but he hit Ferrari, a 43-year-old software engineer from Madrona who was in his van with his parents and children at East Cherry Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
In documents charging Patterson with second-degree murder, prosecutors spell out how police investigators built their case against the 20-year-old Federal Way man.
Despite multiple dead ends during the two-month investigation, investigators ultimately collected enough pieces of the puzzle, including Metro bus-surveillance videos, interviews, cellphone records and information from a confidential source to arrest Patterson.
Gang-unit detectives told homicide investigators there had been a rash of "possible gang activity" where Ferrari was shot and that several young men fit the general description of the suspect, charging documents say.
Witnesses told police the suspect had corn rows and wore a distinctive red jacket with a black design on it, court documents say.
Detectives found the man who insulted the shooter. Known as "Crazy John," he identified a few of the people on the corner with him that afternoon, but Patterson was not among them, prosecutors say in charging papers.
Police got a tip about a woman who was on the bus with the shooter that day and witnessed the argument and the shooting, court documents say.
When investigators tracked her down, she allowed them to get data from her phone, prosecutors said.
The court documents say she sent one text that said, "lol too funny as I sat and saw the whole thing play out up until a innocent person got shot. ... "
Detectives determined what bus routes the woman took and submitted requests for in-bus videos.
On video recordings from Metro, detectives found images of a man boarding a Route 3 bus at 3:40 p.m. May 24 at James Street, court papers say.
The man had corn rows and was wearing a red North Face jacket with black and gray features. He had diamond-like stud earrings and red shoes, charges say.
As he exited the bus, he swiped an ORCA card, and detectives got a screen-captured still photo of him, according to charging papers.
Police began to circulate the photo and requested a search warrant for information about the ORCA card.
Metro records showed the card, which had been reported stolen, was used in and around the Federal Way Transit Center and Green River Community College in the hours before the shooting, charging documents say.
On June 23, a gang-unit detective who had been looking into friends and associates of the people named by "Crazy John" found a booking photo of Patterson, whose listed address was in Federal Way, charges say.
Patterson was due to appear in Auburn Municipal Court the next day on a domestic-violence charge. The prosecutor in that case gave police the name and phone number of the victim, Patterson's girlfriend, charges say.
Detectives went to her apartment, which is near Green River Community College, and noted surveillance cameras throughout the complex. They found an employee who said he knew almost every resident and was "very observant of activity." The man recognized the photo of Patterson as a visitor of a tenant, prosecutors said.
Detectives reviewed surveillance video from the complex and found images of Patterson — in corn rows and diamond-like stud earrings — leaving the girlfriend's apartment two day's [sic] before Ferrari's death, charges say.
Prosecutors also say police obtained cellphone records that indicate Patterson was at the corner where Ferrari was killed when the fatal shot was fired.
Patterson is being held at King County Jail on $2 million bail and is to be arraigned Aug. 2. He faces a sentence of 15 to 23 years if convicted as charged.
Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com
[Thanks to reader-researcher “W” for this article.]
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