Man charged in Sammamish murder claims victim made sexual advances

Charges of murder and robbery were filed Friday against two men arrested in Canada for the murder of a Sammamish homeowner.

According to a court document filed in the case, Kevin Patterson, 20, claimed in phone calls to friends that he killed Richard Bergesen, 57, after the older man made sexual advances.

Patterson was living with Bergesen, who met Patterson through his church and offered him a place to live about one year ago, according to detectives.

Information filed in the case indicates that Bergesen was planning a trip to California and exchanged text messages with Patterson’s sister expressing concerns about Patterson’s plans to enroll in school.

Prosecutors claim Patterson and co-defendant Christopher Shade, 18, beat Bergesen to death with shovels Wednesday night. They’re accused of stealing his wallet, money, credit cards, and his BMW. The car was equipped with a GPS device and tracked to Abbotsford, B.C. where police arrested Patterson and Shade outside a motel Thursday, according to the court document.

After their arrest, detectives say Shade told them he and Patterson crossed the border into Canada through a barbed wire fence along a dirt road. He claimed Patterson called him to Bergesen’s house and discussed a plan to drug the man, rob him, steal his car, and flee to Canada. Instead, Shade claims Patterson got a shovel from Bergesen’s garage and went to Bergesen’s room, alone. When he heard noises after a few seconds, Shade says he went into the bedroom and saw Patterson beating the man with the shovel. Shade admitted to hitting Bergesen once or twice.

While jailed in Abbotsford, B.C., detectives say Patterson denied killing Bergesen. He restated his claim that Bergesen made sexual advances. Patterson told detectives he left the house and returned to find Shade hitting Bergesen with a shovel. He claimed Shade forced him at knifepoint to steal Bergesen’s belongings and drive to Canada.

But prosecutor’s interviewed witnesses who said Patterson called them on the phone and admitted to killing Bergesen.

In asking for bail of $2 million a senior deputy King County prosecuting attorney wrote that Patterson killed Bergesen just days after Patterson was sentenced for another crime. He added that Patterson told a detective in Abbotsford that there was no way that Canada would send him back to the United States. It’s believed that Patterson has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.

In a statement, a spokesman said the King County Prosecutor’s office is working with the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs to have the defendants returned to the U.S. to face charges.