A 50-year-old Seattle man convicted in 1990 of murder is now in the King County jail in Kent, charged in the brutal assault of a Renton smoke-shop owner on May 9.
Joel White is being held on $750,000 bail on charges of second-degree assault. His arraignment is May 24 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
The assault occurred May 9 at the shop at 19020 108th Ave. N.E. The victim has owned the store for two years.
White was arrested by Renton Police on Friday; but a second male, a 17-year-old teenager, who according to charging documents took part in the attack, remained at large.
Police issued an alert last Friday, asking for the public’s help in finding the teen. In the alert, police cautioned that the teen should be considered violent and dangerous.
Accompanied by family members, the teen surrendered Monday afternoon to Renton Police at City Hall. He is now being held at the Department of Youth Services facility in Seattle. His first court appearance is Tuesday; he hasn’t yet been charged.
The Renton Reporter is not yet naming the teen because he is a juvenile.
The attack on the shop’s owner happened at about 11 a.m. as he was stocking drinks. He recognized White and the teen as prior customers. The teen lives in a nearby apartment complex. He asked them why they were wearing gloves and carrying a stick. They responded they had been in a fight and needed them for protection, according to the probable-cause certification written by Renton Police Detective Keith Hansen.
The shop owner continued talking to them and turned to stock shelves again. White then hit the owner over the head with the stick, according documents. The blow didn’t knock out the owner, who fought back.
The teen then joined in the attack. The owner was hit with the stick and bottles and the two men’s fists and feet.
The teen put the shop owner in a “bear hug,” Hansen wrote, and White swung the stick. But the victim told investigators the stick must have hit the teen, because he released his grip.
Hansen wrote that there was blood on almost all the walls. The teen is 6-foot-1 and weighs about 220 pounds; White is 5-foot-ll and weighs 155 pounds.
The shop owner told investigators they fought “for a long time” before the two men left. A nearby shop owner heard the noise and called 911. A man waiting at a bus stop saw the two walk by, both with blood on them.
A tip led police to the teen’s family. Police also learned that White is the teen’s uncle. Investigators found a photo of White on the teen’s Facebook page. The shop owner identified White from a montage containing that photo.
The shop owner suffered cuts and lacerations on his head and face and fingers were broken.According to court documents, White was convicted of second-degree assault in 1985 and first-degree murder in 1990.