Prosecutors expect to file charges today against three teenagers police allege are involved in the slaying of Larry Kloes of Snohomish.
Kloes, who was beaten and shot, was found dead inside his Snohomish home by his ex-wife Saturday. Police arrested the three teenage suspects Sunday night.
Kloes died of a gunshot wound to the head, the Snohomish County medical examiner reported Tuesday.
Investigators suspect Kloes’ death was an act of revenge, according to court documents.
A former neighbor, 15, allegedly brought two of his friends to Kloes’ home to attack and steal from him, documents say. The boy, who lived with Kloes for a brief time in 2002, allegedly told his friends he wanted to kill Kloes because he twice had the boy arrested.
The teenager broke into Kloes’ home in December 2002, stole his sport utility vehicle and then broke into his family’s cabin in Cle Elum, court records show.
A second break-in at the cabin in September 2003 earned the boy a five-month stint in juvenile detention at a boot camp in Connell in Eastern Washington, according to the state Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration. He was released March 3.
The boy was on parole in May when Kloes reported to police that he’d caught the boy stealing his guns and other items.
The state Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration was unaware of the allegation, said Marilyn Perry, regional administrator for JRA Region 5 in Pierce County.
The boy was supposed to be living with his grandparents in Puyallup, she said.
“The notes that the counselors had entered (in his file) were that he was doing well in school, doing well at his job. He and his grandparents seemed to be getting along,” Perry said.
But the boy allegedly started plotting Kloes’ slaying at least a month ago, court records say. The plan was solidified at a party June 23, one of the teens told police.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office this weekend was seeking Kloes’ 1984 Pontiac Firebird and a 1994 Geo Metro that had been at his home. When the Geo was found in Sumner, a 16-year-old walked up to an officer and said “he wanted to confess,” documents say.
The 15-year-old alleged ringleader and Perry Rothermel, 18, were arrested later in Bonney Lake in Pierce County while driving Kloes’ Pontiac, documents say.
Rothermel, who recently graduated from a Puyallup high school, left his parents’ home in Graham to live with friend Diane Soden in Puyallup about six months ago. Soden said the older teen had had a falling out with his parents, but she had encouraged him to graduate.
Yvonne Saxton, Rothermel’s next-door neighbor, said she also knew the 15-year-old well.
“He would come around bragging about stealing from people and how he was on probation for robbery,” Saxton said.
She said the 15-year-old suspect was a high school drop-out who got kicked out of his grandparents’ house in Puyallup. She said he tried to move in to Soden’s house, but she wouldn’t let him stay.
Saxton said she didn’t know anything about the third suspect except that he lived across the street from the 15-year-old, and the two were often together.
Rothermel appeared Monday in adult court. The younger suspects appeared in Snohomish County Juvenile Court on Monday. The Herald normally does not name juvenile suspects.
If the 16-year-old is charged, he automatically would be prosecuted as an adult because of his age and the severity of the charge, said Mark Roe, chief deputy prosecutor.
A hearing would be held in Snohomish County Juvenile Court to decide if the 15-year-old would be prosecuted as an adult or juvenile.
All three suspects were being held on $1 million bail.
The Tacoma News Tribune contributed to this report.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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