By Kirk Boxleitner
Three teenaged suspects were arrested March 6 and arraigned March 12 due to a reported gun incident.
Port Townsend Police Deputy Chief Jeff Thaxton spoke to …
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By Kirk Boxleitner
Three teenaged suspects were arrested March 6 and arraigned March 12 due to a reported gun incident.
Port Townsend Police Deputy Chief Jeff Thaxton spoke to The Leader about how two young women, aged 15 and 16, were allegedly threatened by a trio of suspects, including two young men, aged 14 and 15, and one young woman, aged 16, at the parking lot of the park and ride on Wednesday, March 6.
“Our officers were dispatched to respond at 12:22 p.m. that Wednesday,” Thaxton said. “They located the suspects at 12:43 p.m.”
Thaxton explained that the threatening incident at the park and ride appeared to be in retaliation for one of the victims spray-painting “a derogatory word” on the trailer of a friend of one of the suspects a month prior.
“The suspects allegedly drove by the park and ride, saw the victims, rolled down a window, and yelled out a derogatory word of their own, before one of the suspects pointed a gun at the victims,” Thaxton said.
According to Thaxton, all three suspects were charged with assault in the second degree, unlawful possession of a firearm and criminal conspiracy.
“It was a handgun with an extended magazine, which is illegal to sell, but still legal to possess,” Thaxton said.
Thaxton elaborated that the derogatory word spray-painted on the trailer had been an anti-gay slur, while the derogatory word the suspects allegedly yelled at the victims was the N-word, although he added that both suspects are white, as far as he’s aware.
“We’ve seen a recent increase in assaults among this age group,” Thaxton said. “We met with the school district and parents to address it. It looked like things might calm down, but then this happened.”
Although all three suspects were sent to the Kitsap County Juvenile Detention Center, Thaxton received word that the female suspect had been released by Friday, March 8.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney James Kennedy told The Leader that, as of press time, the three suspects were due to be arraigned at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12.
“Future court dates will be set at that time, and you can expect that they will want to address conditions of release, including bail,” Kennedy said.
The Leader will provide updates to this story.
