Lovelychild Manuel of Des Moines was sentenced Friday (Jan. 8th) to eight years in prison for the deadly shooting of Devon Guidry after a book signing in Tukwila in April, 2008.
Manuel pleaded guilty to killing Guidry and wounding Paul Dervin after a party for two authors of a book about rapper Dr. Dre in the parking lot of the Gordon’s On The Green restaurant, which is located at Foster Golf Links in Tukwila.
Witnesses told police that Manuel shot Guidry in the back of the head after an argument, then fled in an SUV driven from the scene by another man.
Following the shooting, police received several tips that Manuel had been involved in the shooting and was planning to leave the state. Officers arrested him following a traffic stop in SeaTac. Manuel admitted to being at the restaurant during the party, but initially denied any involvement in the shootings.
At first charged with second-degree murder, Manuel pleaded guilty to reduced charges of second-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault. Had he been convicted as initially charged, he would likely have faced more than 20 years in prison.
Manuel is currently jailed at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, pending transfer to the Department of Corrections.
According to The Seattle Times, a Des Moines Police Officer shot and killed a man around 3pm Saturday afternoon (Dec. 19th) in the 27200 block of Pacific Highway South.
The incident happened during an apparent domestic violence call just inside city limits. According to reports, the officer fired an unknown number of shots during a pursuit, striking the victim on the Federal Way side of 272nd.
Despite attempts at CPR, the man died on the scene.
Since the shooting occurred on the Federal Way side, Federal Way Police will be handling the investigation.
The officer, who has not been identified, was uninjured.
A special “Tip-A-Cop” fundraiser is being held by the Tukwila Police Department this Friday night, Dec. 4th, to help raise money for the families of the Lakewood Police Officers killed last Sunday (Nov. 29th).
The fundraiser will be just down the hill at the Claim Jumper Restaurant (located at 5901 S. 180th Street in Tukwila), beginning at 4pm, and all donations collected between 4-11pm will go to a trust established for the families of fallen Lakewood Police Officers Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold, Greg Richards and Ronnie Owens, who were all shot and killed at a coffee shop in Lakewood this past Sunday.
Officer Renninger served eight years on the Tukwila Police Department, and was most recently a member of the Lakewood P.D. and SWAT team. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Officer Mark Renninger
“Tip-A-Cop” is a great, fun fundraiser, where, for a small donation, you can pay to have a friend or family member “arrested” and taken out of the restaurant by uniformed cops. It’s all in fun, for a great cause, and from our own previous experience it provides a lot of laughs as well as a great way to meet and learn about local law enforcement.
Other participants will include Valley SWAT, Tukwila Fire Department and Les Schwab.
UPDATE Sat. 11/7/09: The Seattle Police Department released more information Saturday about Christopher J. Monfort, the suspect shot Friday in Tukwila after being approached about his car, a Datsun B-210 that matched a vehicle seen near the scene of Officer Timothy Brenton’s death on Halloween.
He was shot on the scene and is currently in serious condition, in custody at Harborview Medical Center.
According to the latest reports, Monfort’s apartment had a cache of weapons, including bomb-making materials. He is now believed to have “worked alone” in the fatal shooting of Officer Brenton, and is also a suspect in the Oct. 22 firebombing of seven Seattle police vehicles.
Monfort once attended Highline Community College in Des Moines.
Here’s the release:
On the afternoon of November 6th , 2009, Seattle Police Homicide detectives received a tip about a Datsun 210 matching the description of a possible suspect vehicle used in the slaying of Officer Tim Brenton. Detectives responded to a parking lot in the 13700 block of 56th Avenue South in Tukwila. While detectives were investigating the scene further an adult male suspect emerged and pointed a gun at them. Detectives fired on the suspect in self defense, striking him at least once. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. No detectives were injured.
The Tukwila Police Department is handling the crime scene investigation and the King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is conducting the officer-involved shooting investigation.
SPD detectives obtained search warrants to further examine the crime scene. Evidence located inside the suspect’s apartment included improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a rifle, and various other items of evidence. Detectives now believe that this individual is responsible for both the murder of Officer Brenton, the attempted murder of Officer Sweeney, and the arson attack on October 22nd at the Charles Street facility. Detectives are asking the Prosecutor’s Office for formal charges. The Datsun that detectives were looking for is registered to the suspect. Our investigation into the murder of Officer Tim Brenton and attempted murder of Officer Britt Sweeney continues and we are still receiving and following up on tips. We have received numerous tips from the public and we encourage everyone to continue to call us with any information they may have regarding this investigation.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call either 911 , or the tipline at (206) 233-5000. Those wishing to remain annonymous are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or send a text to CRIMES (274637). Your text message should include “TIP486″ to ensure proper routing. Calls are taken 24 hours a day.
PREVIOUSLY: Friday afternoon (Nov. 6th), shortly after Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton’s memorial concluded, a suspect named Christopher J. Monfort was shot outside his apartment building in Tukwila, prompting a massive outpouring of police to the area.
Police were apparently serving a search warrant on Monfort, 41, when he pulled out a weapon. He was shot on the scene and is currently under custody at Harborview Medical Center.
Monfort apparently attended Highline Community College in Des Moines, where he ran for student office in 2003.
According to HCC’s “Thunderword” student newspaper dated Nov. 20, 2003 (PDF link to issue), Monfort’s platform was:
“Christopher Monfort said he’s running to make the student body more aware of the civil liberties lost under the Patriot Act and the current political administration (Bush).
Monfort said students should vote for him because he actually cares about the world and wants to make a positive change.”
Monfort also studied law enforcement issues at the University of Washington.
Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed as he sat in his patrol car with an officer-trainee after a traffic stop on Capitol Hill on Oct. 31. Thousands of officers from around the country attended a memorial Friday afternoon for him at KeyArena in Seattle.
A 14-year-old girl was shot in the arm early Saturday morning as she was walking with friends along Pacific Highway South near Kent-Des Moines Road.
The shooting took place around 1:30am (Oct. 24th) after the victim, along with a 15-year-old female cousin and two boys (ages 16 and 18), had taken a Metro bus to Des Moines from Tukwila, then walked form the bus stop to a nearby drug store.
After exiting the store the group crossed the street to the east side of the highway, where the suspect in a vehicle heading northbound stopped and allegedly yelled at the kids.
One of the boys noticed a gun, the group started to run and the suspect fired a weapon once, striking the victim in the upper arm.
The girl was taken to the hospital with a non-life threatening injury.
The vehicle drove off, heading northbound on Pacific Highway South, and was described as a small import car, possibly a Honda or Toyota, dark color, described as “dark ash.”
The suspect, who is still at large, is described as a Hispanic male in his twenties with dark spiked hair, wearing a dark shirt.
According to The Wenatchee World, Kino Michael Gomez, 51, who was charged with first-degree murder in the July shooting of sound engineer and Des Moines native Tom Pfaeffle, has fled and is being sought by police.
According to the report, Gomez, of Seattle, wrote his family a “good-bye” letter, telling them he was taking a “one-way trip to the mountains.”
Gomez is charged in the shooting death of Pfaeffle, 49, at a Twisp hotel when Pfaeffle tried using his card key on the wrong room. Gomez fired two rounds through the door, killing Pfaeffle.
Here’s a quote from Gomez “good-bye” letter (see below for a scan of it):
“The media, the bloggers, the police, the justice system, none of whom witnessed the alleged crime, already hung me. … Well, just for spite, I shall deprive society of the circus it so bloody craves — the bearded lady quit!”
According to the World:
Twisp Police Chief Rick Balam said law enforcement agencies across the country have been notified, and are warned that he could be armed and dangerous. Gomez’s letter says he took his guns, and adds, “It will be quick and painless. Let no one get in my way — I will not be very kind. Despair has now changed to anger.”
Gomez was scheduled to attend a hearing in Okanogan County Superior Court tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 17th).
Here’s a copy of the “good-bye” letter:
Read the full story here.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Memorial Service For Des Moines Native Tom Pfaeffle Is Aug. 13th
- Murdered Sound Engineer Tom Pfaeffle Was A Des Moines Native
King County Sheriff’s Department reports that on Friday, Aug. 21st, a clerk in a Circle K store in nearby Auburn didn’t believe a young robber was carrying a real gun, so she did what any normal clerk would do any overly worked and underpaid clerk would do – she grabbed for it.
The robber popped off a round into the ceiling, hitting a light fixture, and the clerk quickly became a believer.
The robbery occurred just after 1am on Friday, August 21st at 5011 S. 288th Street in Auburn.
A man came into the store with a bandana covering his face, pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and demanded “all the cigars, chew, and everything” from the clerk.
The clerk said “Are you kidding?” and told the suspect to leave the store, in no uncertain terms. When the robber reached for some merchandise the clerk grabbed for the gun. The suspect pulled his arm back and fired into the ceiling before leaving the store. The clerk was not injured.
The robber was about 140 lbs, around 5’ 5” tall, perhaps 15 to 18 years old. He wore a black, White Sox baseball hat, black jacket, tan shorts and white shoes. And of course the black bandana. Differing descriptions by witnesses have his race as black or white.
In addition, there was a likely accomplice in the store just before the robbery wearing a red sweatshirt. He stood outside the store, held the door for the robber, and even peeked in during the robbery.
If anyone knows either suspect or has information on the crime, they are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or 9-1-1.
On Friday (July 24th), the King County Sheriff’s Department released the surveillance photo below of the car driven by suspects in the June 24th shooting that left an 18 year-old man dead in SeaTac:
The vehicle is thought to be a white BMW 5 series or 7 series with a sunroof.
The photo was taken by a nearby security camera just moments after the shooting.
The incident occurred around 11:30pm, and the victim was in the backseat of a car that was southbound on Military Road South. Four friends were with him. A second vehicle (a white BMW) began following them, but turned off at South 140th. As it did, several gunshots were fired and the man was hit.
The men drove straight to Highline Hospital and the victim collapsed in the entrance to the Emergency Room. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
The dead man is from California and was in the area visiting relatives.
If anyone recognizes the vehicle or has information on the shooting they are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office immediately at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or 9-1-1.
by Janet Grella
By now many of our Readers have heard about the death of Tom Pfaeffle, a noted sound engineer who was recently killed in Twisp, when he apparently put his hotel room key into the wrong door then was shot.
But what you may not know is that Tom was born and raised right here in Des Moines. He continued to live in his family home here until he and his family needed more room for the kids and sound studio and moved to Black Diamond where he opened “The Tank Studios.” This was about five years ago.
The Waterland Blog first learned about the shooting death of this music industry sound man extraordinaire when Matt Pina and his wife stopped by our booth at the Des Moines Farmers Market last Saturday. Matt alerted us to the news, and was visibly shaken.
At that point we Googled Pfaeffle’s name, and there was no information yet about his death since it had happened just the night before. Now there’s numerous sites reporting his death and paying homage to him, remembering him as the great sound guy that he was. Pfaeffle, a 30-year veterean, worked as a sound engineer with these bands:
- Nirvana
- The Black Crowes
- Great White
- Heart
- Queensryche
- Scorpions
- UB40
- Aerosmith
- Alice Cooper
- Rodney Crowell
- B.B. King
- and “countless others”
But what mainstream media and the internet aren’t saying is that Tom Pfaeffle was born and raised in Des Moines.
His childhood friend Aaron DeAnda remembers him with the Waterland Blog:
Tom and I first met in our neighborhood Delrose Manor in Des Moines near Highline Community College. He was a few years younger than me. We had such good times as kids. His dad is gone now, and his mother, Charlotte, lives in Arizona. Tom was an only child, so he considered all the neighborhood guys his brothers. We played a lot of football in the streets. Tom was in our band, “Session,” in high school. Tom played guitar and was the sound man. He wanted to do sound as long as I can remember. He was very focused. Of all of us he was the only one to make a living in music. He had a good ear for sound…a critical ear.
He was passionate about music and he reached out to everyone. He considered everyone ‘family’. We’d still get together for sushi or at 909 in Burien listening to live music.
Aaron is now a Burien resident and is in a band with fellow MRHS graduate Matt Pina. Their band, “Uncle Ernie’s,” recently performed at Mick Kelly’s and hope to be back there soon. Aaron plays drums while Matt plays bass.
Matt not only played in the band “Rolling Boulders” with him, he provided these exclusive photos of he and Tom in younger years (Tom is in the striped shirt):
Matt and Tom were in the class of ‘79 at Mt. Rainier High School. We asked Matt to remember his friend and fellow Des Moines native.
I was very proud of Tom, he had a great ear and knew how to make the music sound great.
Like everyone, we fumbled as we learned our craft, but Tom persevered. He became successful and turned his dream into reality. In fact he’s the only person I know who ever turned their musical dreams into reality (more than a hobby).
One of my most vivid memories of Tom is about 12 years ago. He was engineering a recording for a few of us from Instant Karma that were getting re-aquainted. On a break when everyone had headed outside, Tom picked up an acoustic guitar and began strumming a favorite song of mine, Neil Young’s “The Needle and The Damage Done”. I was captivated and really enjoyed that moment. I can’t say why it was special, but it was. It was just a moment of purity. A short performance by the man who ran the board. He wasn’t really known for his guitar playing, but that moment was genuine and awesome.
Friends from Tom’s life, the music industry and others from Des Moines will celebrate his life at St. Philomena’s Church, located at 1790 South 222nd Street on Wed., July 29th at 11am.
The King County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in finding a white, 1990s-model 4-door BMW 5 Series car (see included reference photos of a similar vehicle) driven by the suspects in a shooting that left an 18 year-old man dead on Wednesday night.
As we previously reported, the incident occurred about 11:30pm on Wednesday, June 24th. The victim was in the back seat of a car that was southbound on Military Road South. Four friends were with him in the car. A second vehicle began following the victim’s car but turned off at South 140th. As it did, several rounds were fired and the man was hit.
The men drove straight to Highline Medical Center in Burien, and the victim collapsed in the entrance to the Emergency Room. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
The dead man is believed to be from California and was in the area visiting relatives.
If anyone recognizes the vehicle or has information on the shooting they are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or 911.
Wednesday afternoon (April 22nd) we received the following email from a Reader asking us if we knew anything about an apparent “lockdown” at Des Moines Elementary School:
Hey – did you guys hear why we were locked down at DME @ 3:50 this afternoon?
Seems the police blocked off 9th and 10th avenues – I think there was a shooting – you guys know anything about it?
According to police, there was no shooting, but the school apparently did go into “lockdown mode” voluntarily, without police request, due to a nearby police incident.
We spoke with Des Moines Police Commander John O’Leary, who gave us this update on what really went down:
- There was a burglary reported by a family returning to their home, which is located very close to the school in the 1100 block of South 220th.
- The husband, finding an open window and seeing obvious ransacking inside, went into the house to investigate, while the wife and daughter fled.
- The wife called 911 and reported it, stating that she didn’t know about the safety of her husband or if the burglary suspect was still in the house.
- Following protocol, when Des Moines Police showed up they cordoned off the area since they didn’t know whether the crime was still in progress, or whether the suspect was still inside, or the status of the husband (ultimately the husband was found to be alone and safe inside the house).
- At the same time police arrived with their guns drawn, parents were picking up their children from the school. It is believed that a parent saw the police moving toward the house in this state, and that said parent may have alerted someone in the school’s office.
- Des Moines Police did NOT lockdown the school themselves; apparently the school voluntarily did this once they heard about the ongoing incident nearby.
- The house was indeed burglarized, but we have no word on how much was stolen.
- The burglary suspect(s) got away and is/are still at large. There is no known description of the suspect(s) since they were never seen. The case in still being investigated.
We have no further information other than this, but we hope this clarifies things for all those who may have been affected.
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