Jakori Buchanan of the Seattle area was arrested on a warrant in King County two days after he allegedly shot 19 year old Sone Falealo. Buchanan made his first appearance in Whitman County Superior Court in Colfax Monday afternoon. He was arrested for 1st degree felony assault which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The shooting occurred at the Aspen Heights apartment complex in North Pullman during the early morning of Sunday September 21st. Over a hundred people were at the party. Pullman Police investigators believe the incident began when Buchanan assaulted a woman. As Buchanan and his cousin were being removed from the apartment he reportedly struck Falealo in the head with a handgun twice and then shot him in the abdomen. Buchanan and his cousin then fled the scene in a rental car.
Buchanan’s private defense attorney from Bellevue Ronnie Rae told the court that his client was acting in self-defense. He argued that Buchanan and his cousin were bragging about the Huskies Apple Cup win when he “came into contact” with a woman which led to the men being beaten.
Whitman County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau told Judge Roger Sandberg that police in Seattle found Buchanan hiding in his sister’s car. Rae argued to the court that Buchanan wasn’t running from police but that he was trying to “rush” his seriously injured cousin to the hospital. LeBeau countered by pointing out that it took Buchanan 36 hours to get his cousin to a hospital in Seattle. LeBeau asked Judge Sandberg to place Buchanan on a half a million dollars bond. Rae requested that he be released from jail and ordered to wear a GPS tracking device. Rae also told the court that he was working to coordinate Buchanan’s surrender when he was arrested on the warrant. Judge Sandberg placed Buchanan on 100,000 dollars bond.
Buchanan has no criminal history. Formal charges are expected to be filed soon. He is set to be back in court on October 10th. Falealo has been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. The gun that was used in the shooting hasn’t been recovered by police. Buchanan was also arrested for misdemeanor 4th degree assault.
