Charges filed against Shane McClellan’s alleged attackers

The May 25th assault results in first degree robbery and malicious harassment charges

Charging Documents-Mclellan beating.pdf

Charges of robbery in the first degree and malicious harassment have been filed against the two men who allegedly attacked 16-year-old Shane McClellan on May 25th, an assault that garnered national media attention due to its characterization as a hate crime.

THE CHARGING DOCUMENTS CAN BE DOWNLOADED THROUGH THE LINK

Warrants were issued on Monday for Ahmed Mohamed, 22, and Jonathan Baquiring, 21, for the attack. Baquiring was booked at the Seattle Correctional Facility on Tuesday evening with a $500,000 bail according to King County jail booking system. Police are still searching for Mohamed.

According to charging documents, Baquiring and Mohamed “committed the crimes of robbery, unlawful imprisonment, malicious harassment and assault” on May 25th when they robbed, beat, urinated upon and burned (with cigarettes) the victim over the course of five hours. According to police, during the attack the defendants said, “the white man has kept us down,” and “this is for enslaving our people.”

McClellan, who is white, told police he was walking home from a friend’s party around 2 a.m. when he saw a black and Asian male who asked him for a light. The alleged attack ensued, and Officer Ryan Blake of the Seattle Police Department responded to a call around 7 a.m. to find McClellan’s “face, hands and shirt covered in blood. He also noted Mr. McClellan’s face, ears, head and neck were swollen and covered in welts and that his teeth were chipped in several places,” according to the police report.

According to charging documents, Officer Blake investigated the staircase on the 7700 block of 14th s.w. where the attack occurred and found blood smears, cigarette butts and empty cans of Four Loko energy beer.

When he left the scene he saw an Asian male and a black male walking down s.w. Holden. The black male attempted to conceal an open container and Blake stopped to question them. The men had Four Loko energy beer and Marlboro Red cigarettes that matched what was found at the crime scene. They also had blood stains on their hands, prompting Blake to swab blood samples from the hands of both men (for DNA testing) before letting them go.

On June 4, investigators had McClellan identify his attackers from two photo montages consisting of six black males and six Asian males. McClellan identified Mohamed from the black male lineup, saying he looked “about sixty-five percent like the suspect.” He did not correctly identify Baquiring from the Asian male montage. DNA swaps were taken from his cheek at that time.

The DNA evidence was submitted to the Washington State Crime Lab on June 10 and a report came back to investigators on September 8 matching the blood on the defendants’ hands with that of Shane McClellan, according to charging documents.

Bail for Mohamed and Baquiring has been set at $500,000 each because they “pose a flight risk and are likely to commit violent offenses” according to prosecutors. Their arraignment is set for October 4, although Baquiring’s may be moved up since he is already in custody, according to Dan Donohoe, press secretary for King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Tim McClellan, Shane’s father, said news of the charges against Mohamed and Baquiring are a relief.

“It was very frustrating, for four months not knowing anything,” he said. “I’m glad the DNA came back, it vindicates Shane’s story (about the attack).”