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

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 (30)


  • Add A Comment

  • Ernie in the East wrote...
    So many questions, so many unanswered
    There are so many questions that come to mind and they will probably remain unanswered. How does an underage guy get into a bar? Oh, wait, he probably had a stolen or forged identification (if any was required at the door). Isn't that a criminal offense for Jones? He's a convicted criminal, how did he get possession of a firearm? Oh, wait, again probably stolen or borrowed from a "friend." How did Jones, who is underage for possessing a handgun get a handgun? Please refer to the last question, he stole it or borrowed it from a "friend." How is it that a firearm is in someone's possession while at an establishment which serves alcohol? Did he have a CCL? The book needs to be thrown at Jones. Criminals disreqard the laws of our land and Jones is obviously a criminal. Pick up the jail and put him under it. He doesn't need to be walking on our streets anytime soon.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • po_guy wrote...
    Check out these names...
    De Shawn was killed by Ja Mari...now Da State needs to kill Ja Mari...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dash wrote...
    actual
    laughter was produced
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    lol
    bye bye Jumanji.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Zoeller wrote...
    This little dirt bag -
    Will make it as a good girlfriend for someone once he makes it to prison.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Actually until he is convicted of a crime he is at this time a innocent man.
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    If it looks like a thug
    drives with a gangster lean like a thug and quacks like a thug....Then it must be thug season. Presumed innocent is all the law says and we aren't the law.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    So what is this a lynch mob?
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    Nope. Just public opinion.
    And wouldn't it be a lench mob in Jumanji's case?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Public opinion is what led to lynch mobs...It's just your opinion !
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleJack wrote...
    Ron Spins
    "Innocent before being proven guilty" is a legal requirement for juries. Everyone else can decide someone is guilty if they feel like it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Not Quite...the burden of proof is on you the accuser.Hahhahaaah If you FEEL like it .
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presumption_of_innocence
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • NRFully83 wrote...
    Sentence him.
    Put him in jail and throw away the key. I'm so tired of obvious criminals getting weak sentences and then commit the same crimes. Innocent people die because of people like this. RIP Tuba Man.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dori monson fan wrote...
    ronspins
    he was convicted of murder. it was all over the news. him and his buddies murdered a guy called tuba man.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Howdy wrote...
    DMfan
    I think it was manslaughter. That's why they gave him a slap on the wrist and a lollypop.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Assemble your Lynch mob git the horses and the rope.
    How about letting the legal process take it's course?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dsbab wrote...
    If only
    If only felons couldn't have guns. If only minors couldn't be in bars. If only it was illegal to have a gun in a bar. If only murder was illegal none of this would have happened. That would have been breaking the law and we know criminals wouldn't do that. Maybe we should ban stuff...That'll do it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Half of you are touchy feeley Obama voters.
    Deal with the consequences of your voting decisions..
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }