webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2010
All rights reserved
From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Nov 12 2010 - 10:01:14 EST
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013411233_yohannes12m.html
Originally published Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 8:47 PM
Family of slain Skyway man points to vendetta
The family of a Skyway man who was gunned down on a downtown Seattle
street last month believes the idea of the slaying may have originated
in prison.
By Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle Times staff reporter
Michael Yohannes
Tomas Afeworki, of Lynnwood, is charged with first-degree murder.
Related
The family of a Skyway man who was gunned down on a downtown Seattle
street last month believes the idea of the slaying may have originated
in prison.
Michael Yohannes, 31, was fatally shot at Second Avenue and Pike
Street on Oct. 26. Witnesses said the gunman walked up to Yohannes
from behind, pulled out something concealed by a white towel and fired
a single shot.
Tomas Afeworki, 27, of Lynnwood, was arrested in the restroom of a
nearby restaurant, where witnesses said the gunman had fled. Police
found a 9 mm handgun in the restroom trash can and three live rounds
of ammunition in the toilet bowl, charging papers said.
He was charged with first-degree murder.
Seattle police have not released a motive for Yohannes' slaying, other
than saying that he and Afeworki were involved in gangs. Yohannes'
family vehemently disputes the allegation.
"He wasn't in a gang at all," said his sister Senite Yohannes. "He
didn't like guns. He would rather fight like a man before even
thinking about touching a gun."
According to his family, the two men had come to blows nearly 12
months earlier, when Afeworki told Yohannes that he had a message from
Afeworki's former prison cellmate. The message, his family said, was
that Yohannes was a dead man.
Senite Yohannes, 28, said her brother responded by punching Afeworki.
Soon after the fight, Yohannes apologized to Afeworki, and the men
seemed to be getting along, Senite Yohannes said.
But Mengisteab Yohannes, the slain man's father, believed "the peace
was just a strategy" for Afeworki. He called his son "naive" for
trusting Afeworki after that day.
Role model
Yohannes was born in Eritrea and lived in Sudan before moving to
Seattle's High Point neighborhood with his family 27 years ago, his
parents said. As a teen, Yohannes was often in trouble and dropped out
of school, his family said. He served prison time for drug possession
and had a lengthy misdemeanor record.
But in recent years he has focused on trying to be a better role model
to his sons, ages 9 and 7, Senite Yohannes said. Yohannes was focused
on earning his GED and getting a job, and he dreamed of one day
becoming a fashion designer, his girlfriend, Adria Harris, said.
Afeworki grew up around the Yohannes family and went to school with
Senite Yohannes, she said. The two men knew each other but were not
close.
In 2009, Afeworki served prison time for burglary, assault, drug
possession, unlawful imprisonment and unlawful possession of a
firearm, according to charging documents. He also is being
investigated by police in a number of unsolved assault cases, Senior
Deputy Prosecutor Don Raz said in charging documents.
According to Senite Yohannes, when Afeworki approached Yohannes last
year he said that he had been in prison with a man who shot Yohannes
in 2000.
Yonas Gugsa shot Yohannes in the neck when Yohannes tried to break up
a fight over a woman after an Ethiopian New Year's celebration at a
North Seattle Veterans of Foreign Wars hall, according to court
records. Gugsa was convicted of attempted second-degree murder and
first-degree assault in 2001 and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Yohannes' family believes that Gugsa was angry at him because they
believed he was "a snitch."
According to court records, Yohannes and a witness identified Gugsa as
the gunman.
According to the state Department of Corrections, Gugsa, now 34, and
Afeworki both served time at the Washington State Penitentiary in
Walla Walla from February through April 2009. While Yohannes' family
is convinced the two men are friends, Corrections spokesman Chad Lewis
said state records do not show whether the men were cellmates.
"We can't tell if there were in the same cell, but they could have met
up in other areas like work, education, cafeteria and elsewhere,"
Lewis said.
Afeworki was released from prison in September 2009, Lewis said.
Shortly after getting out of prison, Afeworki approached her brother
at an Eritrean restaurant in South Seattle and said, "I have a message
for you. Yonas is going to kill you when he gets out," Senite Yohannes
said.
Seattle police said they have heard the same claim, but say it is
nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor at this point. Homicide
detectives say they are still investigating Yohannes' slaying.
On Oct. 26, Yohannes called his girlfriend, who could hear him telling
someone to leave him alone. He then called his sister Helen Yohannes,
and told her that "Tomas" was following him, Yohannes' family said.
Within minutes of the calls, the two women received phone calls and
texts from people downtown reporting the shooting.
Raz said Afeworki faces a potential 39-year sentence if convicted of
first-degree murder.
During Afeworki's arraignment earlier this week, his lawyer, Nicholas
Marchi, told Superior Court Judge Palmer Robinson that his client is
not guilty and believes police have arrested the wrong man.
Yohannes' mother, Zaid Ogbay, said she just wants to understand what
happened on the downtown street.
"Why? I want to know why," she cried. "My son had a good heart."
Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----