Herald staff
KENT — A man has been charged with raping a woman outside the Regional Justice Center and of soliciting another man to kill her with poisoned cocaine to avoid being charged in the attack.
Devon "Devo" Amon-Re Evans, 26, of Seattle, pleaded innocent to rape and murder solicitation charges Tuesday in King County Superior Court. Bail was set at $500,000.
Documents filed in court gave the following account:
A woman and Evans, who did not know one another, were released at the same time April 2 from the county jail in Kent. After they got outside, the woman said, Evans made lewd remarks and raped her. He claimed he paid her for sex.
On Nov. 6, David Kendall told authorities at the justice center that Evans had promised him $5,000, 8 ounces of crack cocaine, an apartment and a car if he would deliver cocaine laced with rat poison to the woman and make sure she smoked it.
The informant said he bought drugs from Evans and was the woman’s cocaine supplier.
Investigators wired Kendall on Nov. 19 and tape-recorded conversations between him and Evans, who was arrested the next day. Investigators said they found rat poison and nearly 100 grams of cocaine in Evans’ residence.
Three children hit in crosswalk: Three 8-year-olds were hit Tuesday by a car that ran a red light at a southwest Seattle crosswalk near a school. Two girls and a boy were taken to Harborview Medical Center. A nursing supervisor said two were treated and released and one was still being evaluated Tuesday evening. Witnesses said the pupils at Holy Family School had the walk sign and were hit when they ran out into the street. The driver of the car, an 87-year-old woman, was cited for running a red light.
City Light surcharge extended: Seattle City Light customers will begin the new year paying a surcharge that will add about $3 a month to the average residential bill. The Seattle City Council agreed Monday to extend the surcharge through 2002. The council also agreed to set up a $100 million line of credit to help cushion the utility from unprecedented wholesale price swings. The council had hoped to discontinue the surcharge, which takes effect Jan. 1, within 18 months. The surcharge is in addition to rate increases previously approved by the City Council: 5.6 percent in 2001 and 6.2 percent in 2002. In addition to unpredictable wholesale prices, City Light has been hurt by too little rain. That means it generates less hydroelectric power and must make up the difference by buying more on the open market.
Forgotten candle blamed for fire that killed two teens: A candle left burning in the room of a 13-year-old girl has been identified as the source of a house fire in which her two older teen-age sisters died. Crystal and Amanda Dickinson, 16 and 15, were unable to escape from the flames early Sunday. The fire started in the bedroom of their younger sister, Bonnie, who had left a thin candle burning in a jar on top of the wooden headboard in her bedroom when she fell asleep in the living room of the family’s rental home. Her two sisters were trapped in a windowless first-floor bedroom. City fire investigator Jim Hardy said the windowless bedroom apparently was a violation of building codes; he was trying to contact the owner of the house, a woman who lives in Nevada.
Wanted: town crier with "presence, loudness": Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! The Bavarian-theme village of Leavenworth is looking for a town crier. But so far, no one’s applied, and the city borrowed Anacortes’ town crier for the weekend holiday lighting festival. "A town crier must have presence, loudness and good content in their cry," said Judy Jewell, 61. The Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce scheduled tryouts for Friday, but no one showed up to audition. "I’m not too discouraged," said Rob Eaton, chairman of the Leavenworth Christmas Lighting Festival. "We only had one announcement." The word "oyez" translates roughly to "hark" or "listen."
Mayor’s race to be settled by straws: Elections officials in the tiny town of Waterloo have a problem with a familiar twist, but they’re proposing a much simpler solution. After a recount, candidates Richard Paull and Phillip Bohna won 45 votes each for mayor. They will draw straws at next week’s city council meeting to determine the winner. "That’s what we did last time," said Lisa Rounds, the city recorder. Two years ago, a married couple tied for a spot on the city council. Linda Smith drew the long straw and won the seat over her husband, Bob. In the end, Linda Smith conceded the position to her less fortunate spouse. Waterloo’s final vote was to be certified Tuesday. That will now have to wait until the straw-drawing on Dec. 15.
