Two suspects arrested in Sammamish’s first-ever homicide investigation
Sep 18, 2014, 5:48 AM | Updated: 6:06 pm
Kevin D. Patterson is suspected in the murder of a man in a Sammamish neighborhood Wednesday morning. He was arrested in British Columbia. (Photo: King County Sheriff's Office)
(Photo: King County Sheriff's Office)
Two men linked to a man’s murder in Sammamish have been detained in Canada and may face charges there.
Ian MacDonald, a police spokesman in Abbotsford, British Columbia, says police are investigating possible crimes, including possession of stolen property, fraudulent credit card use, and crossing into Canada illegally. He said Thursday afternoon that they had not yet been charged.
Kevin Patterson and an 18-year-old man were arrested outside an Abbotsford motel Wednesday night, hours after police found Patterson’s roommate dead at a home in Sammamish.
King County sheriff’s Sgt. DB Gates says Patterson, who is 20, lived at the home. She says the 18-year-old was at the house at the time of the killing, though his involvement was unclear.
Overlake Christian Church has identified the victim as one of its members, according to The Seattle Times.
“All of us at Overlake Christian Church who knew Rich Bergesen personally are grieving today. Rich’s caring and compassionate heart touched many hurting people in our world.”
The Times reports sources say Bergesen was providing Patterson, who was homeless, a place to live.
Any extradition could be complicated because it’s believed Patterson has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.
The victim’s body was found Wednesday at the home in the 23100 block of SE 26th Place.
Gates tells KIRO Radio that detectives went to the house after a concerned friend called them around 11 a.m.
“(Officers) could not get anyone to answer at the house and they were concerned enough about who might be inside that they forced entry,” says Gates.
She says this is the first homicide in the history of the city of about 50,000 people, which was incorporated in 1999.
“This is a fairly quiet, residential neighborhood in Sammamish, considered one of the safest cities in Washington,” Gates says.
The Times reports a camping shovel was found near the victim’s body. The King County Medical Examiner was expected to conduct an autopsy Thursday to determine the cause and manner of the homeowner’s death.
The Associated Press and KIRO Radio’s Tim Haeck contributed to this report.
