BRIER – Jay Clements died the way he lived, trying to help.
When six young men showed up at a house party in Brier early Sunday looking for a fight, Clements tried to calm everyone down.
“That’s what he would do,” said the slain man’s father, Dan Clements.
Shots were fired into a crowd and Jay Clements, 21, of Everett was hit twice. Police believe Noel Evan Caldellis, 18, of Seattle was the gunman.
He reportedly told police he fired a couple of warning shots into the air, then turned the gun on the crowd, according to court papers.
Caldellis was arrested Monday and jailed for investigation of first-degree murder. On Tuesday he was being held in Snohomish County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail after a brief appearance in Everett District Court.
Another man and two teenagers were also arrested and officers were tracking down two more.
“It’s just a tragedy for everybody,” said Dan Clements, the finance director for the city of Edmonds since 2003 and for 11 years previously for Snohomish County.
“My heart really goes out to everybody. I just think it’s a terrible waste of young lives.”
Jay Daniel Clements, however, lived his life to the hilt, his dad said.
He was an avid snowboarder and was even considering it as a career. He rode mountain bikes and held a second-degree black belt in tae kwon do.
“I believe in maintaining a good mind and a healthy body,” Jay Clements wrote of himself on his Web page on the MySpace social networking site.
“He was extremely outgoing and adventurous,” said close friend Brandon Karr, 21, of Mukilteo. “He definitely got the most out of every day.”
Karr met Jay Clements while the two were in sixth grade at Mukilteo’s Olympic View Middle School. They often rode their bikes in Japanese Gulch, on the border of Mukilteo and Everett, and have been regular snowboarders at Whistler, B.C.
Jay Clements graduated from Kamiak High School in 2003 and was just beginning his senior year at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, studying communications and exercise science.
If Jay Clements’ pro snowboarding dreams didn’t come true, his dad believes he would have gone into sales because he had the type of personality people are immediately drawn to.
“He was one of the most carefree and fun-loving people I’ve ever met in my life,” said friend Dustin Black, 21.
“A ladies’ man,” added friend Andrew Simmons, 21.
Jay Clements didn’t know the young men now accused in his death. They had been called by one person at the party to come settle a dispute with their fists, according to police.
Jay Clements appears to have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, police told his family.
“He didn’t have one enemy,” said friend Mark McClure, 22. “Nobody ever said anything bad about Jay.”
Dan Clements said he raised Jay and his other son, James, 16, to be helpful, especially to those less fortunate than themselves.
“He was one of those guys who would always answer his phone,” Karr said of his friend.
Dan Clements said he’s grateful now that his family spent a lot of time together, including a sailing adventure from Grenada to Venezuela.
On his Web entry, Jay Clements summed up his philosophy this way:
“Get out there, see the world, and don’t sit on your (rear) all day talking about what could have been. Life is too short for being left in other people’s dust. The world is large and is filled with endless adventures.
“A lot of crazy (stuff) happens on a daily basis, and it is the people who witness the crazy (stuff) that can only truly enjoy its ambiance.”
Jason Alan Kimura, 18, of Shoreline also appeared in court Tuesday. His bail was set at $75,000.
He’s been jailed for investigation of “riot,” the crime of engaging in violence as part of a group. It is a felony when a firearm is involved, Lynnwood police Cmdr. Steve Rider said Tuesday. Lynnwood police are assisting Brier police with the case.
Two 17-year-old boys, both from Lynnwood, also were being held in connection with the death. The pair were ordered jailed at the Denney Juvenile Justice Center while they are investigated for riot.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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