Teen who killed Tuba Man arrested again for robbery investigation One of three convicted in Ed McMichael case, he hasn't been charged in recent case

Edward McMichael, known to thousands as "Tuba Man," is shown here outside a Sonics home game on Nov. 9, 2007. He died less than a year later after three teens attacked him. Edward McMichael, known to thousands as "Tuba Man," is shown here outside a Sonics home game on Nov. 9, 2007. He died less than a year later after three teens attacked him. Photo: Scott Eklund/seattlepi.com File Photo: Scott Eklund/seattlepi.com File Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Teen who killed Tuba Man arrested again for robbery investigation 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

One of the three teens who killed "Tuba Man" Edward McMichael -- the same one who allegedly bragged about the killing when arrested earlier this year -- is back in jail for another alleged crime.

Police say the suspect, now 18, was one of two teens arrested after an incident early Tuesday in the Central District. It's his third arrest since killing McMichael, and he's scheduled to have a bail hearing Wednesday afternoon.

Seattlepi.com does not typically name suspects until they're charged as adults.

Police said they were called about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday regarding an armed robbery in the 500 block of 23rd Avenue South. The victim told an officer she was hanging out with the suspect and a 17-year-old, and she couldn't get her cell phone back when dropped off at her house.

"The victim attempted to take the phone back, but the suspect slashed at her with a knife, cutting the sleeve of her jacket," according to a police statement. "The other suspect then pointed a handgun at the victim and told her to get out of the car."

Police spokespeople did not say which suspect was the teen from the McMichael case.

Seattle police broadcast the vehicle description and the suspects were arrested after being found by Renton police. The teen from the Tuba Man case was booked into King County Jail at 5:41 a.m. and was being held without bail Tuesday night.

Teen also involved in recent bus incident

The teen from the Tuba Man case also was arrested Jan. 17 for investigation of unlawful bus conduct.

Police said that night, the 18-year-old boarded bus Route 41 at the Northgate Transit Center to go downtown. When the bus attempted to drive away, the teen showed the driver an expired transfer. The driver stated he had to pay the adult fare.

Deputies believed he prevented the driver from moving the bus and underpaid the $2.25 fare.

Prosecutors reviewed the case, investigated by the King County Sheriff's Office, and determined the teen actually overpaid his fare by depositing $1. Metro youth fare extends to 18-year-olds.

He didn't hold up the bus for an exceptional amount of time, and the teen who was primarily responsible for the bus delay was a friend of the teen from the Tuba Man case, officials said. Video showed he was calling to his younger brother. Charges were not filed against the teens in the case.

However, it was his conduct after the arrest that some officials described as disturbing.

"While he was being searched by Deputy Hill and Deputy Nix, (the teen) bragged to them about being one of the juveniles who killed the Tuba Man," an incident report states. "He bragged how his lawyer, John Henry Brown (sic), got him off with only three months for stomping Tuba Man to death and how he would get him off for these charges too."

However, John Henry Browne was not the teen's attorney on the Tuba Man case, in which he received a sentence of 30 to 72 weeks and served all 72. His attorneys were public defenders Daewoo Kim and Hal Palmer, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

Browne is known for defending high-profile suspects including Martin Pang, who was convicted in the 1995 warehouse fire that killed four Seattle firefighters; serial killer Ted Bundy; and, currently, the "Barefoot Bandit," Colton Harris-Moore.

Teen previously sentenced for felony

On July 24, 2010, the suspect from the recent case and two others were arrested near Seneca Street and Sixth Avenue, after being identified by a victim who had reported being robbed at gunpoint. The now-18-year-old is prohibited from legally carrying a handgun because of his felony sentence, but police say they found a cigarette lighter modeled after a Derringer pistol in his front sweatshirt pocket.

At the time, an officer described the teen as dangerous and "an active gang member," according to a probable-cause document. But the officer didn't elaborate on alleged gang ties, and deputies did not say Tuesday if those gang ties were still suspected.

The teen pleaded guilty in January to stealing marijuana from the victim and was released the afternoon of Jan. 5 with credit for time spent in jail. The bus incident happened less than two weeks later.

The teen was not the first of Tuba Man's killers to be arrested after serving not more than 18 months for McMichael's death.

Last August, another of the three teens involved in the McMichael case was sentenced to 6 to 8 months in juvenile detention in an unrelated robbery case. Judge Mary Yu sentenced the teen to the high end of the standard sentencing range.

That teen faced a single charge related to a Jan. 22, 2010, incident at a Central District youth center. The robbery occurred shortly after the boy completed his sentence in McMichael's death.

All three of the suspects were 15 when McMichael was killed.

According to charging documents, the teen -- then 16 -- approached another teenager at the Garfield Teen Life Center and asked him for $5. Police say several teens surrounded the victim after he walked outside the center, at 428 23rd Ave. near Garfield High School.

One of the youths punched the other boy in the mouth. The assailants stole the boy's MP3 player and wallet before fleeing. The teen was arrested days later and was subsequently charged with second-degree robbery.

Seattlepi.com does not generally publish the names of juvenile defendants unless they're charged as adults.

Attack on Tuba Man

On Oct. 25, 2008, McMichael was near a bus stop in the 500 block of Mercer Street when a group of teens started beating him. The musician, who was known for playing outside local sports games and arts performances, was punched so hard that he fell and hit his head on the concrete.

Someone grabbed his wallet, and his 1979 Sonics NBA World Championship ring -- a gift to McMichael from a friend -- was taken off his left hand, police said. He was left bleeding in the street.

The 53-year-old was taken to Harborview Medical Center and released to recover at his Vermont Inn apartment. McMichael died of brain trauma on Nov. 3, 2008, as a result of the attack.

The suspect involved in the recent bus incident and two others -- all 15 at the time of the Tuba Man attack -- pleaded guilty in April 2009 to first-degree manslaughter.

Police and prosecutors asked on several occasions for witnesses to come forward, but found no one willing to testify at trial. The reluctance of roughly a dozen witnesses was "one of the most chilling parts of this entire story," King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said at the time.

In court, McMichael's brother, Kelsey, asked that the teens receive only the agreed-upon sentencing recommendations: 15 to 36 weeks for the teen convicted in the January 2010 robbery, and twice that length for the other two, including the now-18-year-old involved in the recent bus incident.

Kelsey McMichael has since said it seems Washington's sentencing laws are too lenient.