munchbarshooting_ap980.jpg
The exterior of the Munchbar, where tables are seen overturned and debris strewn about, is photographed Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, in Bellevue, Wash. A 30-year-old Seattle man was killed and another man wounded in a shooting at the crowded bar earlier in the morning about 10 miles east of Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Arrest made in fatal Bellevue Munchbar shooting

BY MyNorthwest.com  on January 3, 2013 @ 2:01 am (Updated: 10:49 am - 1/3/13 )

Bellevue police say a man charged in a fatal Christmas Eve bar shooting has been arrested during a traffic stop in the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood, Wash.

Police spokeswoman Carla Iafrate says Ja'Mari Alexander Jones was arrested Wednesday night after Lakewood officers randomly ran the license plate of a car that turned out to be stolen.

Jones is the suspected gunman in fatal shooting at the Munchbar in Bellevue, early on Monday, Dec. 24. More than 600 people were at the bar when the shooting occurred, many who were celebrating the Seahawks victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

As chaos broke out, 30-year-old DeShawn "D.Mill" Milliken of Seattle was killed.

Milliken was pronounced dead at the scene. Another man was rushed to Overlake Medical Center, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the hand. According to the King County Medical Examiner's Office, Milliken died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Jones, 19, has been booked into the King County Jail on a second-degree murder charge with bail set at $5 million. A 20-year-old woman arrested with him was booked for investigation of rendering criminal assistance.

Detectives don't know what relationship, if any, Jones and Milliken had before the shooting, but it's looks from the surveillance video like they appear to recognize each other.

Milliken worked with at-risk youth in Seattle's Central District.

Jones is one of the three teens who beat Ed "Tuba Man" McMichael to death outside Seattle Center in 2008.

Jones, Billy Chambers and Kenneth Kelly all served about 36 weeks in juvenile detention for the murder.

That was all the time prosecutors could get because no witnesses to the beating came forward. The lack of time has always bothered McMichael's family.

"I didn't get that feeling that they were remorseful for what they had done," Kelsey McMichael, brother of Ed previously told KING 5.

Since Tuba Man's murder, the three teens have all continued to get into trouble.

Kelly and Chambers have faced weapons charges and been in jail for assault.

"We always thought the punishment they received for killing my brother was much too light," McMichael previously told KIRO Radio's Dori Monson.

Since Jones' bail has already been set at $5 million, he will likely appear before a judge next week.

Meanwhile, the owners of Munchbar and Mirror Lounge have decided to not reopen their doors. The bar has been closed since the shooting. Owners announced their plans to not reopen on Thursday, saying "this would be best for the community, guests and the families involved."

The Associated Press, KIRO Radio reporters Chris Sullivan and Brandi Kruse contributed to this report.

MyNorthwest.com, Staff report
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Comments (31)


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  • NW observer wrote...
    Editing crap
    January 3, 2013 7:29 am
    The story is about a murderer, not the geography of Pierce County. BTW - why so many gunmen in Lakewood?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    Lakewood is a suburb of Tacoma, and I'm not even familiar with the area.
    January 3, 2013 8:09 am
    Hopefully they'll throw the book at Ja'Mari Jones and his ghetto-fab gurlfren...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • flipper wrote...
    So much for Munchbar...
    January 3, 2013 8:23 am
    What was a 19 and 20 year old doing in a bar after midnight? Liquor license will be gone. This kid is nothing but a career criminal at 19, has killed twice, and should go to jail for the rest of his life.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Burn_Notice wrote...
    Don't blame Ja'Mari Jones
    January 3, 2013 9:14 am
    Blame whitey! You all know Ja'Mari is another example of white oppression of the black man. He grew up poor and it is all our fault. Make sure to continue to apologise for his plight and the continuing indifference we as a society have shown this underprivileged murderer.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dori monson fan wrote...
    why is kiro trying to de-thug millikin?
    January 3, 2013 9:37 am
    even the ultra liberal seattle times sees his LOOOONNGG rap sheet as relevant and mentions it in the story. why not tell the truth and write "kelly, chambers, AND millikin have faced weapons charges and been in jail for assult?"
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Who edits this crap? . . . .
    January 3, 2013 9:44 am
    need a job? Then go get one then. Are a unemployed bookkeeper? Some flounder said you were. Just checking!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JMGilday wrote...
    We all know
    January 3, 2013 9:57 am
    Billy Chambers and this piece of filth both made 'great choices' with their second-chance but what happened to the other Tuba Man murderer - Kenneth Kelly ?

    Could he have actually turned into a decent man?

    I'm not holding my breath, but one can only hope.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JMGilday wrote...
    Nevermind...
    January 3, 2013 10:03 am
    a short Google search shows that the third member of this merry trio is a sack of chit too.

    "Kenneth Kelly, one of three felons who killed "Tuba Man" Edward McMichael, is now a self-admitted member of the Central District's Valley Hood Piru gang and was caught Feb. 26 with a loaded revolver, according to Seattle police."

    Oh well, it's not like we didn't see this coming

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dori monson fan wrote...
    unfortunately i don't think the prosecutor can get a murder conviction
    January 3, 2013 10:17 am
    Jamari's defense will paint the picture of millikin as a huge 5'10" 275lb beast with a long history of assult and weapons charges. skinny little jamari will have a strong self defense case. hopefully he'll get a weapons charge that puts him away for a while, but probably will just receive another big hug.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HLC wrote...
    There shouldn't even be a trial.
    January 3, 2013 11:41 am
    He should have been shot trying to escape. Save the state a bunch of money.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }