Teen charged in Kirkland stabbing

A 17-year-old Kirkland resident who prosecutors say stabbed a man to steal his iPod "apparently for the fun of it" was charged Wednesday as an adult.

Michael J. McMahill-Dearmond, who lives in the 13000 block of 105th Avenue Northeast with his mother, was charged with first-degree assault and first-degree attempted robbery, according to the court documents.

McMahill-Dearmond is accused of attacking Michael Woolson, 48, near a parking lot at Carl Sandberg Elementary School in Kirkland about 1:30 a.m. Monday.

A second suspect, who is 18 years old, was arrested Tuesday for investigation of robbery and is expected to be charged later in the week, the King County Prosecutor's Office said. The Seattle Times generally does not name suspects until they have been charged.

Woolson, who was stabbed from behind, was in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Wednesday.

According to the charges, McMahill-Dearmond and a friend went to another friend's house to play video games late Sunday, leaving about 12:30 a.m. Monday. As they drove along 84th Avenue Northeast, they noticed a man walking and saw he had an iPod.

McMahill-Dearmond asked his friends "if they should get it," the charges say. The defendant then grabbed a lifting weight plate in the car, but the 18-year-old arrested Tuesday instead handed him a 6-inch, fixed-blade dagger, the charges say.

McMahill-Dearmond got out of the car and was picked up a few minutes later by the friends.

One friend then said they had to get rid of the knife so it was thrown out the window.

According to the charging papers, McMahill-Dearmond didn't get the iPod and wanted to go back to the school to get it. When they returned, they couldn't find Woolson, and police arrested them.

McMahill-Dearmond is being held in the King County Youth Service Center.

"His total callousness and indifference to the fate of his victim demonstrates the significant danger this individual poses to the public safety," Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Erin Becker on Wednesday. "The defendant here committed an unprovoked stabbing and attempted robbery, apparently for the fun of it."

McMahill-Dearmond's arraignment is set for Wednesday in King County Superior Court. If convicted, he could face up to 12 years in prison.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com