Gang member found guilty of 2005 slaying of man who fought with Seahawk

A King County Superior Court jury this morning found a well-known Seattle gang member guilty of first-degree murder in the October 2005 shooting of Terrell Milam, who was killed hours after he allegedly brawled with former Seattle Seahawk Ken Hamlin outside a night club.

Jurors also found Omar Norman, 24, guilty of first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. Prosecutors said he will face about 50 years in prison when he is sentenced.

After the verdict was read, Milam's widow, Olamae Milam, audibly whispered, "Praise Jesus."

"I'm so happy it's over," she said later. "I have been waiting for four years."

Norman had gone for a predawn ride with Milam shortly before Milam's body was found on a sidewalk near Seward Park. Milam was shot nine times, including once in the top of his head.

DNA matching Norman's was found on a cigarette butt and a 9 mm shell casing near Milam's body, according to prosecutors. Remnants of a 9 mm bullet were found in Milam's head.

Gang member Mark Anderson testified in the four-week week trial that Norman told him he had "topped off" Milam by putting him in a headlock then firing a single round into his head.

King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor John Castleton said in his opening statement that Milam was riding with gang members Norman and Charles Justice, when Milam said he had been involved in the nonfatal shooting of a man named "Rollo." Milam didn't realize that Raphael "Rollo" Justice was Charles Justice's older brother.

Charles Justice has not been charged.

Norman's lawyer, Don Minor, told jurors that Castleton's evidence was flawed.

Although Norman and Milam were in different gangs, "that was not the motivation" for the shooting, Castleton said, pointing to Milam's role as a getaway driver in the shooting of "Rollo" Justice two weeks earlier.

Milam's killing also had nothing to do with Hamlin, who now plays for the Dallas Cowboys. Hamlin suffered a fractured skull in a street brawl outside Larry's Nightclub on the morning Milam was killed. Milam's role in the fight remains unclear. He knocked Hamlin to the ground, Milam's brother told a reporter shortly after the incident.

The case was steeped in gangster culture. Norman was a founding member of Seattle's Low Profile gang, an offshoot of the Deuce Eight gang Milam was prominent in. Rival gang members brawled in King County Superior Courthouse during pretrial motions.

Information from Seattle Times staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan and Times archives is included in this report.