By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A March 4 arraignment is scheduled for the suspect in the shooting of a Washington State Patrol trooper Feb. 16 in the city of Kent, and according to KCPQ, the local Fox News affiliate, alleged gunman Jason Joshua Posada has a criminal record including eight felony convictions.
As a convicted felon, the 31-year-old Posada cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition. Yet, he allegedly shot trooper Raymond Seaburg nine times in the legs.
Posada is being held on $3 million bail.
According to KING News, the area NBC affiliate, Posada has been charged with first-degree assault with a firearm enhancement, unlawful possession of a firearm and theft of a firearm (the trooper’s gun). KING also noted the suspect had been held on a separate warrant. When a public defender argued too much time had elapsed between his arrest and hearing, a judge reportedly concurred, but Posada was held anyway on a “separate, active warrant.”
It is not clear where the suspect obtained the gun he was allegedly carrying at the time he was stopped by the trooper, but investigators found two handguns when they found Posada hiding about 500 feet from the crime scene, in a residential yard. The handgun Posada was carrying was identified as a 9mm Polymer 80 pistol in court documents. Ammunition in the gun, including a spent casing that failed to extract from the chamber, matched empty casings found near where the trooper was shot, charging documents alleged.
On top of everything else, Posada was allegedly driving a stolen pickup truck at the time. He had been driving erratically on a state highway, the trooper followed him, and he ran a red light, colliding with another vehicle.
According to court documents obtained by TGM, Posada’s prior convictions include second-degree robbery, third degree assault, possession of a stolen vehicle (two offenses), first degree theft, attempted burglary and being a fugitive from justice.
By no small irony, Trooper Seaburg was on special assignment, patrolling the state highway due to a rash of shootings which have occurred on highways in King County over the past couple of months.
