King County Sheriff's Office detectives investigate the murder of a male at the Seattle Roll Bakery in White Center. The man was shot in retaliation for an earlier dispute with an employee at the bakery and the suspect was arrested around 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 28.
Update for Dec. 29, 4:30 pm
The 25-year-old suspect in the fatal White Center shooting at Seattle Roll Bakery in White Center made his first court appearance today and bail was set at $1 million, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.
The deadline for filing charges is tomorrow, Dec. 30.
Probable cause documents released today show the suspect’s last known address was in the High Point neighborhood of West Seattle.
According to those documents, the argument between the suspect and victim started outside the Seattle Roll Bakery around midnight. The argument, which never became physical, moved into the store when witnesses say the suspect allegedly turned his back on victim Jason Saechao, pulled a handgun from his waistband, turned back around and shot the victim several times.
Saechoa was hit four times according to an autopsy report – including the top of the head and a close range shot to the face.
After the shooting the suspect allegedly threatened witnesses in the bakery, telling them “not to talk if they knew what was good for them,” according to court papers.
Witnesses initially heeded his warning, telling police an unknown robber was the culprit, but the suspect was eventually identified.
According to the documents, detectives tracked the suspect down at his sister’s residence and arrested him in a traffic stop around 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 28.
He was booked into King County Jail for suspicion of first degree murder later in the day.
Update for Dec. 29
The victim has been identified as 24-year-old Jason O. Saechao (who died from multiple gunshot wounds) and the 25-year-old shooting suspect who was arrested yesterday morning was booked into jail shortly after 3 p.m. the same day.
The suspect's bail hearing will happen this week with a deadline for King County prosecutors to file charges against him coming early in the new year.
Update
The shooting at Seattle Roll Bakery in White Center just after midnight on Dec. 28 was originally described by the King County Sheriff’s Office as a robber using deadly force in the death of a male bakery employee in his twenties.
As witnesses talked the story changed, and the Sheriff’s Office is now saying the homicide was due to a dispute between the victim and an employee of Seattle Roll Bakery.
The victim was not an employee at the bakery, as originally reported.
The suspect, who was arrested around 9:30 this morning, came to the bakery, confronted the victim about the dispute and shot him several times with a handgun, according to KCSO.
Here are additional details from Sgt. Cindi West with KCSO:
White Center- The homicide that occurred at a Seattle bakery in the 9800 block of 16 Ave SW just after midnight was the result of a dispute that had occurred earlier in the week and was not a robbery as initially reported.
An employee of the bakery had a dispute with the victim earlier in the week. Last night the employee, the victim and several other people were at the bakery. The suspect, who is known to both the victim and the employee went to the bakery and confronted the victim about the earlier dispute. During the argument the suspect pulled out a handgun and shot the victim multiple times. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses initially told the police it was a robbery because they feared the suspect would come back and retaliate.
The suspect was arrested at approximately 0930 this morning in the area of SW 116 and 1 Ave SW.
Original post
One male in his twenties is dead after an armed robbery of the Seattle Roll Bakery on the 9800 block of 16th Ave. S.W. in White Center.
The suspect fled on foot after the shooting, is at large and no description has been released at this time.
The robbery occurred shortly after midnight on Dec. 28 and one male employee of the 24-hour bakery was shot at least once and died from his injuries, according to Sgt. Cindi West with the KCSO.
Preliminary information indicates no one else was shot.
There were two other employees working at the time and both are being interviewed by King County detectives, West said.
The shooting occurred inside the bakery and K-9 units searched a wide surrounding area to no avail.
The entire 9800 block of 16th Ave S.W. was taped off with crime tape shortly after the shooting and will likely remain so for several hours as detectives continue their investigation.
This story will be updated as more details emerge.