Everett man charged with hate crime

An Everett man accused of brandishing a knife and making racial slurs at a black man at a bus shelter in Seattle's Northgate neighborhood was charged Wednesday with attempted second-degree assault and malicious harassment, the state's hate-crime law.

King County Superior Court prosecutors say Jason Pinkey, 36, also showed Dallas Brazier a swastika tattoo during the Aug. 17 encounter. Pinkey then allegedly tried to punch Brazier but missed.

Brazier walked away, but Pinkey again came at him with the knife and hurled more slurs, prosecutors allege in court papers. But this time several other people punched Pinkey and took away his knife.

A judge Wednesday ordered Pinkey held in the King County Jail with $100,000 bail.

Seattle

Car nearly severs woman's leg

A woman's leg was nearly severed Wednesday morning when she and a parking attendant were pinned to a downtown garage wall by a car that slid down a ramp.

The woman, in her 50s, and the 21-year-old attendant at the Medical Dental Building at 1629 Sixth Ave., were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said a Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman.

Police planned to inspect the car for malfunctions.

Pickup examined in hit-and-run death

Everett police and State Patrol crime technicians are continuing to examine a truck with front-end damage that may have struck and killed a 12-year-old boy while he was bicycling Monday night.

Everett police said they received information about 5 p.m. Tuesday that led them to the pickup. It was impounded a little after 9 p.m., he said.

No arrests have been made in the hit-and-run death of Justin Lee Freeman, and police aren't saying whether they have identified a suspect. Anyone with information can call Everett police at 425-257-8450.

Man charged in woman's death

An Everett man accused of killing a woman and keeping her body in his closet for three weeks before dumping her in a trash bin was charged with second-degree murder in Snohomish County District Court Wednesday.

Sean Hamill, 25, was arrested after he asked a neighbor for help moving the body and the neighbor called police.

The dead woman was identified by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner Tuesday as Angela N. Hay, 42, of Everett.

Hamill is being held in Snohomish County Jail on $500,000 bail.

Voters approving ship-passenger tax

With the vote count nearly concluded, Alaska voters appeared to be ignoring a $2 million advertising campaign and approving a $50 per head tax on cruise-ship passengers who throng the state's southeast coast each summer.

The measure also would tax the ships' gambling proceeds, require cruise lines to pay corporate income taxes and require they get state pollution-discharge permits for ship waste water. The money would improve ports and harbors, and other visitor services.

Yes votes on the ballot measure led by 6,150 votes, 52 percent to 48 percent. Problems with Alaska's new touch-screen voting machines forced hand counts in some areas and delayed a final tally.

Seattle Times staff and news services