SEATTLE — The suspect involved in a shooting in Rainier Beach over the weekend was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.
If convicted, he could face 20 years in prison.
Bail was requested for $3 million for 33-year-old suspect Ryan Smith, according to charging documents. Despite no known criminal history, the requested bail is due to his higher likelihood of committing future violent crimes and the nature of the shooting, according to prosecutors.
According to police, Smith shot 55-year-old Jason Tuttle point blank in the head over a small disagreement.
The prosecuting attorney for the case, Lauren Burke, noted in the charging documents Tuttle was apologizing to Smith right before being shot, calling it a "cold-blooded murder." She wrote Smith posed a significant safety risk to the community.
The shooting happened at 9840 Martin Luther King Junior Way South, which is a vacant paved lot, on Saturday morning.
According to Seattle Police Department documents, the lot's owners hired Tuttle to move heavy equipment. He hired a close friend who in turn asked his cousin, Smith, to come with him for the job.
According to eyewitness statements from the owners of the lot, Tuttle was going to operate the forklift to move the heavy machinery onto flatbed trucks. However, there was wet pavement and the forklift was unable to do so. The project was abandoned.
The owners told police they heard a gunshot and saw Smith holding a gun and Tuttle falling to the ground. They later called 911 after driving away from the scene.
The surveillance video captured what police called a "mild argument" between Tuttle and Smith and there was no physical fighting leading up to the shooting. Tuttle was heard apologizing in the footage and asking the suspect to not get mad. When Smith draws his gun, Tuttle asks Smith to not shoot him. Police documents also state that Tuttle remarked that if the suspect was going to shoot him, then he should do so.
Smith later fled the scene with his cousin, who told detectives the suspect was acting as if nothing had happened.
According to the cousin, Smith told him, "I solved your problem," after he asked why Smith shot the victim.
Officers arrested Smith a few hours later after reviewing the surveillance video footage, which showed Smith's white Cadillac Escalade. The same car with unique paint damage was at Smith's cousin's property and Smith was taken into custody without incident.
Police found Tuttle breathing but unresponsive. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.
On Wednesday, three days after the shooting, SPD announced Tuttle died due to a gunshot wound to the head, and his body was transported to the King County Medical Examiner's Office. His autopsy confirmed his death to be a "catastrophic" bullet wound.
According to police, a 9mm handgun was found in Smith's truck, which matched the 9mm shell casing investigators found at the scene. It was also the same kind of gun Smith told investigators he owned and took to the crime scene.
Smith told detectives he gave Tuttle "what he wanted" but did not recognize himself, the car or Tuttle when shown the surveillance footage.
Tuttle is remembered as a "great friend" from the town of Sutherlin, Oregon, according to a social media post from former classmate Heather Stockton-Hendrix.
"We attended all grades of school together, rode the school bus together...We had many great adventures growing up and I have so many fond memories of our school days together. He was a good friend and basically we were all a family," she wrote in a letter to the City of Seattle.
Smith's arraignment will be on Nov. 29 at the King County Courthouse.