According to a report by MyNorthwest.com a Ballard High School senior has been charged as an adult in the February 23 fatal shooting of 54-year-old David Peterson in Greenwood.
Byron K. A. White, 17, was charged today with first-degree murder, attempted robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
According to the report, court documents reveal that White confessed to shooting Peterson in an attempt to steal his cell phone. According to KOMO reports, White later complained to friends that the phone “was not as nice as he had hoped.”
Peterson was out for an evening walk on Sunday, February 23, when he called 911 around 8:27 p.m. to report that he had been the victim of an attempted robbery. While he was on the phone, White returned to the scene.
“We heard the victim in his own voice talking about the incident,” said homicide Det. Cloyd Steiger, who led the investigation for the Seattle Police Department. “He said that the guy was coming back toward him and then there’s a scuffle and the phone went dead.”
MyNorthwest.com reports that Peterson died at the scene of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Court documents reveal the motive for the shooting, as White told friends that Peterson had seen his face and he “had to shoot him.”
“David Peterson went out for a walk around the neighborhood after dinner and never returned,” said King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. “He was a random victim from a chance encounter with a dangerous young man. That the evidence shows he was murdered for his cell phone by a teenager with a gun makes this all the more tragic and senseless.”
White is now being held in lieu of $2 million bail and is scheduled for arraignment in King County Superior Court on March 17 . If convicted, prosecutors say that he could be sentenced to between 27-35 years in prison.
Photo courtesy of KIRO Radio/Brandi Kruse.