Prosecutors have filed murder charges against the man arrested in last weekend’s deadly shooting during a dispute over an electric scooter at a 12th Ave encampment.
William Bender, 30, is charged with second degree murder and unlawful possession of a handgun in the killing at the camp. The suspect has past arrests for burglary, malicious mischief, trespass, and violating a domestic violence protection order among other convictions. He is being held in King County Jail on $2 million bail.
CHS reported here on details of the early Saturday killing of 38-year-old Carl Hatfield who witnesses said beat up Bender who was reportedly trying to sell a scooter that morning at the camp. Police say one witness told them Hatfield was shot while riding the scooter after having taken it from Bender over a dispute over a stolen phone.
Police say they found Hatfield after he staggered from the encampment to a nearby truck at 12th and Spruce where he was treated by Seattle Fire and but died before making it to Harborview. Hatfield was shot in the back, prosecutors say.
According to court documents, police gave $50 to at least one of the witnesses at the camp who demanded payment for their information.
Police were also able to acquire security video from the area just south of the juvenile detention and court campus. showing some of the comings and goings around the encampment at the time of the 4:30 AM shooting. In an interview after his arrest by SWAT at another nearby encampment, Bender reportedly told police he got into a fight with Hatfield over the scooter but denied shooting the man.
Witnesses told police Bender was last seen riding the scooter eastbound from the scene.
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