A 24-year-old Eastern Washington man charged with second-degree murder Thursday in a fatal shooting at a Renton apartment complex March 26 is being held in the Yakima County jail on unrelated charges.
Four days after the shooting, Omar Alexander Acevedo, 24, of Toppenish was arrested near Granger close to Yakima on charges of first-degree robbery and attempting to elude that involved a carjacking and high-speed chase, according to Yakima County Department of Corrections website.
Renton detectives interviewed Acevedo at the Yakima County jail on March 31, the day after his arrest, after speaking with witnesses or acquaintances to determine his role in the shooting.
Acevedo’s first encounter with Renton Police officers was on March 19, when officers stopped a stolen car in which he was a passenger not far from the Windsor Apartments where the March 26 shooting occurred. He gave officers a false name; his photograph was taken and he was released, according to charging documents.
But through the photograph, detectives later learned his real name and that he was wanted on a state Department of Corrections warrant.
Acevedo, who goes by the street name “Flacco,” was acquainted with the victim, 24-year-old Shiraz Adel Al-Samarrai of Tukwila, whose death was ruled a homicide by the King County medical examiner. He died of a gunshot wound to the head.
King County prosecutors asked that Acevedo’s bail be set at $750,000. The judge also issued a warrant for his arrest. Acevedo, a convicted felon with an extensive criminal record, is also charged with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
In charging documents, prosecutors wrote “the defendant is a Westside Pamona gang member, known as ‘Flacco’; every witness contacted by police expressed fear of retaliation for cooperating.”
Renton investigators learned that Acevedo had a “beef” or grudge with Al-Samarrai, according to charging documents.
A resident returned home to the Windsor Apartments at 433 Bremerton Ave. N.E. at about 2:30 p.m. March 26 to find Al-Samarrai lying on the staircase, with a gunshot wound to the head. According to a witness, Al-Sammarai was at an apartment to exchange a cell phone for heroin, prosecutors wrote.
At about 2:30 a.m. the next day, a man who was staying at an apartment near the shooting ran into Acevedo and two other men while he was walking along Northeast Sunset Boulevard, according to prosecutors. They accused him of “snitching” to police and brandished handguns.
Acevedo and the man met up again on March 28 at an abandoned house, where he asked Acevedo why he shot “Shadow,” Al-Samarrai’s street name.
According to charging documents, Acevedo replied they were “beefing for a bit and don’t worry about.” Acevedo also said that Al-Samarrai socked him and came at him. Later on March 28, Acevedo’s parents reportedly took him back to the Toppenish area, according to prosecutors.
