SEATTLE — The suspect in a Seattle road rage shooting was charged with second-degree murder.
Angel Anthony Valderrama, 38, was arrested nearly a month after the shooting took place, on Saturday, Aug. 20. Valderrama is accused of shooting 68-year-old Robert Jensen after Valderrama refused to let Jensen merge in front of him while they were driving on Fourth Avenue in Seattle.
Prosecutors are asking that Valderrama be held on $2 million bail.
Prosecutors are also asking that the defendant be prohibited from possessing any weapons or firearms and have no contact with the victim's family.
On July 21, the Seattle Police Department 911 Center received multiple calls reporting a shooting at 4401 Fourth Ave. S at the entrance to the Costco parking lot. Five different callers, including Valderrama, said a man was shot in the road.
When officers arrived on scene, they found Jensen in his white Chevy pickup truck with a gunshot wound to his lower left torso. Seattle Fire Department Medics took Jensen to Harborview Medical Center where he later died.
Valderrama remained at the scene of the shooting to give a statement to police. He claimed the altercation happened after he refused to let Jensen merge in front of him on a section of Fourth Avenue where two lanes merge into one, according to court documents.
Valderrama said Jensen came to a stop behind him at a red light. Valderrama alleged Jensen got out of his pickup truck and started walking toward Valderrama's Subaru and appeared to have something in his hand, according to court documents.
Valderrama claimed he got out of his Subaru and warned Jensen to stop advancing, according to court documents. Valderrama claimed he pointed his gun at Jensen when he got within two yards of his car. Valderrama alleged Jensen said "I'm going to kill you," and reached for Valderrama's weapon, at which point Valderrama aimed the gun low and fired a shot.
However, Valderrama's story was contradicted by surveillance video and statements from witnesses who police spoke to on scene, court documents said.
A surveillance camera mounted on the southeast corner of the Costco nearby the shooting captured the incident on video, according to court documents. The video showed Valderrama and Jensen stop at the intersection. Jensen is then seen getting out of his car and approaching Valderrama's Subaru. Valderrama then exits his car, and Jensen is seen quickly backing away while bending forward, appearing to hold his abdomen.
There was "little or no time for any significant interaction between the two men," court documents said.
One witness who was in a truck in the lane next to Jensen and Valderrama told police he did not hear any words exchanged between the two men and Valderrama "opened his door and almost immediately shot" Jensen, court documents said.
Police later searched Jensen's truck and didn't find anything they believe Jensen could have been holding that could have been perceived to be a weapon, according to court documents. Police did find two small flashlights and a folding pocket "clip" knife, but Jensen's truck was cluttered, and they did not appear to be "immediately available" to him at the time of the incident, court documents said.
Valderrama was booked into King County Jail. His next court appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 1.
