Drug debt suspected as motive for slaying

A $40 drug debt was the apparent motive for a shooting early Saturday that left a 31-year-old Federal Way man dead on the side of a freeway overpass, according to Renton police.

The suspect, Robert "Jumbo" Polen, 29, of Seattle, was arrested several hours later at a Renton motel and booked into the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on suspicion of homicide, police said.

Bail was set at $2 million Monday and King County prosecutors expect to file criminal charges by Thursday, said Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim Tuesday as Alex Landin, who died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

According to the statement of probable cause, the men had met several weeks earlier when both were in jail.

Before the shooting, Polen left Landin a voice message saying, "You owe me $40 and it's double if you don't call me right now."

Landin asked a friend to accompany him to see Polen because he "didn't feel safe meeting" Polen alone, according to the statement of probable cause.

Landin and his friend drove to the Northeast 44th Street exit off Interstate 405 just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday, and found Polen sitting on a guardrail, the document says. When Landin approached and was eight to 10 feet away, Polen "pulled out what appeared to be a black semi-auto[matic] pistol and shot [the victim] 2 or 3 times," the statement says.

Landin stumbled and ran west before collapsing. His friend, who called 911, ran with him and then held Landin until he died. A small sledgehammer was found under his body and might have been taken from a toolbox in the car's trunk, according to the statement.

Polen drove off in Landin's car, the statement says.

Police arrested Polen a short time later at a motel in the 3400 block of Maple Valley Highway. They said he denied shooting Landin.

The friend identified Polen from a photo montage, and Landin's fiancée identified him as the man the victim was going to meet, the statement says.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com