SEATTLE — A 16-year-old pleaded not guilty to murder and assault charges Monday morning in connection to a fatal shooting of a girl in Skyway.
Derreon Johnson is accused of firing multiple shots near an apartment building, one of which struck a 10-year-old girl who was asleep in her bed, killing her.
Johnson faces charges of second-degree murder and three counts of second-degree assault for the shooting on May 23.
On May 23, King County deputies responded to reports of a shooting at the Creston Point Apartments in the Skyway area. When they arrived, they found the 10-year-old in bed, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center.
The girl died May 25. She was sleeping next to her two siblings when she was shot, her mother told police.
KING 5 spoke to the girl’s parents Monday as they were boxing up their things. Understandably, the pair are still shaken up and did not want to go on camera. However, they said they are moving out in the morning because, tragically, the Creston Point Apartments are now synonymous with their daughter’s murder.
Johnson and others involved in the shooting were identified through surveillance video, physical evidence at the scene, and social media.
According to probable cause documents, a group of juveniles was in the area to buy marijuana. There was then a disagreement over the price of the drugs, which resulted in the shooting. According to witness statements, the suspect allegedly fired multiple times in the air. No one else was injured in the shooting.
At Monday's arraignment, the judge ordered Johnson to have no contact with the family of the victims or with the Creston Point Apartments where the shooting occurred. His bond remains at $2 million.
Johnson's next trial is scheduled for Sept. 24, with the trial scheduled to begin Oct. 28.
Johnson's arraignment comes as violent felony filings among young people in King County have risen 57% from 2022 and 146% from 2021, according to county data.
A neighbor who lives in the complex told us about the activity among officers in the complex recently.
"We've seen cops-- with lights on-- come back to arrest somebody, further back in the complex," said Kelly Huckins.
According to authorities, it was on July 16 that King County Sheriff's Deputies arrested 16-year-old Johnson at Creston Point Apartments.
Those same documents say that the May 23 shooting was not caught on one of the few cameras near the scene.
Huckins said, "If you're going to have cameras, make them do the job they're supposed to do and protect your tenants." Huckins also recently had her car stolen from her assigned parking space, she said.
"When we talked to the sheriff's office deputies, they said they hate this neighborhood because there's a lot of calls back here," she said. "We see cops coming through patrolling all the time"
According to court documents, less than one month later, Johnson fired 10 more rounds into the air in the same apartment complex.
Huckins hopes security improves at Creston Point.
"As far as the security people that they contract with-- I don't think we've ever actually seen them on premises," she said. "I just don't know what else could be done with the security people."