Teen suspect in Tuba Man slaying charged in earlier assault

A 15-year-old boy allegedly involved in the fatal beating and robbery of the Seattle icon known as the Tuba Man was charged Monday with second-degree robbery in connection with an earlier assault.

In charging papers, the King County Prosecutor's Office said the teen attacked and robbed two men waiting near a bus stop in the 500 block of Mercer Street on Oct. 24, a short time before Edward McMichael, known to many as the Tuba Man, was attacked in the same area.

The teen is scheduled for a detention review Wednesday in Juvenile Court. Two other 15-year-olds also are charged in the robbery and remain in detention.

Prosecutors said Monday that no decision on murder charges in the McMichael case had been made.

Seattle police said the two men at the bus stop reported being accosted by a group of young males. The victims managed to escape after being punched, kicked, stomped and robbed, according to a police report. The wallet of one of the victims was recovered in some bushes at the scene. A bank card and cash was missing.

Prosecutors said the 15-year-old charged Monday and the other two boys were identified as being involved in the robbery of the two men. Seattle police arrested two 15-year-old boys in the area immediately after McMichael was found injured and on the ground.

The Seattle Times is not naming the three teens because their cases are being handled in Juvenile Court.

Police said that following the after-midnight attack, McMichael was briefly hospitalized and then allowed to go home. He was found dead in his home Nov. 3, and an autopsy determined that he died from injuries sustained in the attack.

For 20 years, McMichael was a fixture at Mariners, Sonics and Seahawks games and around Seattle Center, where he would play his tuba in exchange for spare change. Before that he spent 10 years as principal tubist with the Bellevue Philharmonic and played with the Cascade Symphony.

Charles E. Brown: 206-464-2206 or cbrown@seattletimes.com