20-year sentence given in slaying

A man who stabbed to death the son of a King County sheriff's deputy three and a half years ago was sentenced Friday to more than 20 years in prison.

Nikolay Sloboda, 21, was convicted of second-degree murder on Sept. 21.

Early in the morning of March 7, 2004, Michael Behm pulled his Chevrolet Beretta next to a Mitsubishi Mirage that Sloboda was driving in Federal Way. After racing, the teens got out and began to fight. Sloboda then retrieved a knife from his car, stabbed Behm once and chased him before stabbing him again as he lay on the ground.

Behm, 18, was the son of Deputy Michael Behm.

Kingston, Kitsap County

Relative held in man's death

A 21-year-old man is being held in the death of a 53-year-old Kingston resident.

Kitsap County sheriff's deputies say Jeffrey Allen McKinstry's body was found in a house late Thursday afternoon. The Kitsap County Medical Examiner's Office said McKinstry died of multiple stab wounds to the chest.

Kitsap County Sheriff's Office spokesman Scott Wilson said a relative of McKinstry was arrested for investigation of first-degree murder. The man's bail was set at $1 million.

McKinstry had worked in the Bainbridge Island School District for 12 years, most recently as a counselor at Ordway Elementary School.

Parents learned of McKinstry's death via an e-mail from the school district Friday, which was a noncontract day for the district. Grief counselors and emergency substitutes will be available when school begins Monday.

Kent

Vehicle connected to shooting sought

Kent police are looking for a vehicle that could be connected to a shooting Thursday that left an 18-year-old girl wounded.

Police were called to an apartment complex at 10:45 p.m. for a report of arguing followed by gunfire, said police spokesman Paul Petersen. Officers found the girl lying in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to her left thigh.

The injured woman lives in Kent but investigators say she didn't live at the complex. Witnesses reported seeing a light-colored car speeding from the scene.

Seattle

Help requested to find cat-shooter

The Seattle Animal Shelter is asking for the public's help finding someone who shot a family cat in North Seattle Thursday night.

The cat was shot in the mouth in the 1300 block of North 121st Street at about 9 p.m., the shelter reported. One of the cat's owners reported hearing a loud bang and when they went to let the cat in the house for the evening they found it was limping and had blood around its mouth.

It was taken to Emerald City Emergency Veterinary Hospital, where it will undergo surgery Monday. The cat is in critical condition.

The Humane Society of the United States is offering $2,500 for information resulting in the arrest and conviction of the people involved.

In addition, Pasado's Safe Haven is offering a $5,000 reward and they've offered to pay for the cat's surgery, said Susan Michaels, co-founder of the organization.

Pasado's has posted more information about the incident on their Web site at www.pasadosafehaven.org/HOMEPAGE/10_13WEBSITE/DAISYMAE/DaistMae.htm.

Animal cruelty can result in a $5,000 fine, a year in prison or both.

Seattle Times staff and news services