Prosecutors: Man threatens witness with rap song
Nov 21, 2012, 5:40 PM | Updated: 5:50 pm
A Seattle-area man and his younger sister face felony charges for allegedly threatening a witness in an ongoing assault case.
Prosecutors say Jahmez and Tierra Amili approached the individual as they sat outside a King County courtroom; prepared to testify against Charles A. Chapelle Jr.
Chapelle, who was on trial for second-degree assault, is accused of stabbing a man in the neck with a broken beer bottle during an altercation in the Belltown neighborhood.
Jahmez Amili, who is a close friend of Chapelle’s and sometimes claims to be his brother, allegedly threatened the witness with a rap song.
“Words to the effect of: ‘What happens to snitches? Snitches gunna die,'” said Ian Goodhew, a spokesperson with the King County Prosecutor’s Office.
At the same time, his sister attempted to take photos of the witness with her cell phone, Goodhew said.
The two were arrested after a nearby officer overheard the incident.
According to Goodhew, there is no indication that Chapelle encouraged his friends to intimidate the witness or disrupt the case.
