Monthly Archives: February 2006

Death Penalty Considered in Kitsap Case

Kitsap County Prosecutors confirmed that they’re weighing the possibility of the death penalty against a man charged with murdering his wife and stepson.

Bryan Christopher Matsen, 36, was arraigned Monday in superior court for the murders of Evelyn Tumbaga Matsen, 34, and her son, Wahren Agonoy, 13, at their Woods Place home on Nov. 4, 2005.

I mentioned in today’s story that the last death penalty case in Kitsap was against Brodie Walradt, tried for the murder of 22-year-old Beth Kennard and the manslaughter of her unborn baby in Central Kitsap on Sept. 18, 1999.

The jury decided against the death penalty in that case, splitting 6-6 and thus giving Walradt life imprisonment for the crime.

The last person executed in Washington State was James H. Elledge, 58, on Aug. 28, 2001. He was given the death penalty for the only crime it is eligible to use under the state’s statute: first-degree murder.

Washington has executed 76 people since 1904, according to the Washington Department of Corrections. There are currently eight people on death row in the state.

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Heroin in Kitsap

Almost two weeks ago, an employee at a local clothing store made a startling discovery — a small baggie with a black substance inside.

The substance? Black tar heroin.

And it wasn’t found in a small, obscure store at the “dark end of the street” — rather, at the county’s most public place, the Kitsap Mall in Silverdale.

An employee of the Forever 21 store Feb. 14 spotted the bag in a dressing room and eventually called Kitsap County Sheriff’s Deputies.

However, before they could get there that night, the likely owners of the bag came looking for it, deputies said.

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Laptop Bandit?

Two laptops have been stolen in as many weeks from a pair of big box Silverdale stores, and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Deputies aren’t ruling out the possibility that the culprit may be one and the same.

On Monday, employees of the Best Buy store called deputies after a suspect managed to unhook a display laptop from a security cable — they have no idea how — and run from the store with it. The Hewlett-Packard model laptop was worth about $1,150.

On Feb. 8, employees at the Staples Store, also in Silverdale, said a man came into the store and was standing next to a laptop display when an in-store alarm went off. When the manager went to the aisle, the man said he was, “Just standing there when the alarm went off.”

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To Call or Not to Call

A recent Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office report highlights an interesting
question about reporting crimes:

When should we call 911?

A Kingston man recently reported to sheriff’s deputies that while he was
napping, a UPS truck came to his house and attempted to drop off a package.
After the delivery person received no answer at the door (alas, they were
napping), he left. But a mysterious car reportedly followed the truck. One
female passenger went to the door and grabbed the package while another male
passenger went into the house’s tool shed. He wasn’t reported to have taken
anything.

The house’s owner eventually called the sheriff’s office — but didn’t call
911 right away. When a deputy followed up and asked the man why he didn’t,
he said, “We should have called 911?”

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Some Missing, Others Found

Investigators still haven’t determined the cause of death of two bodies found in Puget Sound Jan. 15.

Margarett A. Kirkpatrick, 53, whose body was found in Liberty Bay near her home of Poulsbo, and Shanan Lynn Read, 33, whose body was found between Manchester and Blake Island, were spotted within hours of each other.

Read, whose last known contact with anyone hadn’t been since September 2005, has had her death categorized as “suspicious,” by Kitsap County Sheriff’s Detectives. Kirkpatrick’s, too, is still under investigation by Poulsbo Police. However, she had only been missing for two days when she was found.

When someone goes missing, the end result, however, isn’t always a death. A recent case in Jefferson County provides an example.

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