LYNNWOOD — A man’s throat was slashed with a broken Corona beer bottle Wednesday during a bloody brawl that was fueled by alcohol and insults.
Investigators arrested Francisco Rubio-Diaz, 20, for investigation of second-degree murder. He appeared Friday in Everett District Court, where a judge ordered him held on $1 million bail.
Rubio-Diaz, who lives in Mountlake Terrace, also is being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as officials determine his residency status.
The victim was identified in court papers as Narcizo Garcia Ramirez. His age and hometown were not identified in the police affidavit. His body was found just before midnight Thursday outside the Heatherwood Apartments in the 20400 block of 68th Avenue West.
Witnesses told investigators that Rubio-Diaz and two other men went to drink beer at an apartment there. Rubio-Diaz found a case of Corona beer on the front steps of the apartment and picked it up. The victim came out of the apartment and confronted Rubio-Diaz about taking his beer, according to the police affidavit.
The men squared off and Rubio-Diaz punched Ramirez in the face, giving him a bloody nose. The fight broke up quickly and the men appeared to make amends and began drinking together, witnesses told police.
A short time later Ramirez walked around the building and came back holding a 2-by-4 fence board. He walked a few steps into the parking lot and yelled out to Rubio-Diaz. Ramirez, who was El Salvadorian, made a derogatory comment to Rubio-Diaz about being Mexican, the suspect told police. Rubio-Diaz told police the insult made him angry so he grabbed a beer bottle, broke the bottom off and chased after Ramirez.
The victim ran off but Rubio-Diaz caught up with him. The suspect said Ramirez swung the fence board at him and he caught it. They wrestled over the board and it was shoved into Rubio-Diaz’s chest. He told police that he threw the bottle at Ramirez, striking him in the neck or head, according to the police affidavit.
The men continued to fight until Ramirez fell to the ground. Rubio-Diaz allegedly told police he grabbed the 2-by-4 like a baseball bat and swung as hard as he could at Ramirez’s face. He allegedly told police he hit him three times.
One witness said that Rubio-Diaz hit the victim five times in the head.
Rubio-Diaz and two other men drove away from the scene. They later returned and were spotted by volunteers with the department’s Citizens Patrol. The volunteers noticed a large amount of dried blood on one of the passengers. Another passenger appeared to have cuts on him. Police stopped the car and a witness identified the three men as taking part in the fight.
One of the men who was in the car told investigators that Rubio-Diaz told him that he’d stabbed the victim. The man said he was trying to break up the fight and grabbed the victim and noticed a large amount of blood. He said he pulled away and asked the suspect what he’d done.
An autopsy revealed that victim suffered a deep gouge to the neck that was consistent with a broken bottle. His carotid artery had been severed. A doctor who examined the wound told police that it would take considerable force to cause that type of injury and it wasn’t consistent with a broken bottle being thrown, according to the police affidavit.
Police recovered a bloodied broken beer bottle near the victim, as well as an 8-foot fence board covered in blood.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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