Seattle man, 19, charged in last week's fatal shooting in Leschi

King County prosecutors today filed a second-degree murder charge against a 19-year-old Seattle man who allegedly shot another young man in Leschi last week.

Prosecutors allege in charging documents that Tristan Appleberry fatally shot Aaron Sullivan, 18, while Sullivan was sitting in the driver's seat of his car.

Prosecutors said friends of the two men were involved in a long-standing dispute over a woman.

Members of the two rival groups had run into each other earlier in the day at the Blue Water Dock in Leschi and Sullivan and some of his friends ended up going to Appleberry's house in the 700 block of 32nd Avenue South to wait for him and his friends, court documents allege.

Sullivan and his friends were about to leave, according to court documents, when Appleberry walked up behind the car with an assault-style weapon in his hand.

As Appleberry allegedly approached the car from the rear, two of his friends ran up to the car and one of the men punched the passenger side window of the victim's car, prosecutor said. The victim began to drive away, according to his girlfriend and his other passenger, when a shot came through the back window and struck Sullivan in the head, prosecutors said.

Appleberry was arrested the next day around 6:20 a.m. after the mother of his girlfriend called police to say that he was outside. In asking that bail be set at $1 million, prosecutors stated that Appleberry "used an assault rifle to settle a dispute."Appleberry is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 10 at the King County Courthouse.

If convicted as charged, he faces a standard sentencing range of 15 to 23 years in prison.