Police say Tuba Man killer, arrested again, bragged about his crime

"Tuba Man" Ed McMichael plays in front of KeyArena in this P-I file photo. "Tuba Man" Ed McMichael plays in front of KeyArena in this P-I file photo. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Police say Tuba Man killer, arrested again, bragged about his crime 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

One of the teens who killed "Tuba Man" Ed McMichael was arrested again Monday night, and police say he bragged about killing the beloved Seattle figure. The recent incident happened less than two weeks after he was released from jail for another felony.

However, the teen was released about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday after a judge did not find probable cause in the case. Prosecutors say they'll review the case after it's forwarded by the King County Sheriff's Office, which handles Metro Transit incidents.

Police said that about 8 p.m. Monday, 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.

The teen exited but kept one foot on the bottom step, preventing the driver from going, while he borrowed a dollar. He then got back on the bus and paid the dollar, even though the adult fare was $2.25, deputies said.

The driver didn't request further fare, and attempted to get the bus moving. The teen prevented that while one of his friends also showed an expired fare and didn't pay. The teen then refused to take a seat and leaned out the bus, yelling at his friends to get on, deputies said. This caused the driver to delay his route.

Deputies said that among the teen and his four friends, only two paid the proper fare. Two didn't pay anything, according to an incident report. However, Metro's website shows the 75 cent youth fare also applies to 18-year-olds.

The group moved to the back of the bus, and the driver called dispatch and asked that Metro deputies meet him downtown. Two deputies arrived about 8:25 p.m. and spoke to the driver, who later filed a written report.

Two from the group were given 12-hour expulsions from riding Metro, and the 18-year-old from the Tuba Man case was arrested and booked into King County Jail for investigation of unlawful bus conduct. Seattlepi.com does not typically name suspects until they're charged.

"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," according to an incident report. "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," a deputy wrote in an incident report.

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 sentenced for another felony

On July 24, 2010, the suspect 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 earlier this month to stealing marijuana from the victim and was released the afternoon of Jan. 5 with credit for time spent in jail. He'd been jailed since July 28, records show.

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 teens 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 also 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.

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 is too lenient.