Teen convicted in 'Tuba Man' slaying arrested in weekend armed robbery

One of the three teens who fatally beat Ed "Tuba Man" McMichaels near Seattle Center in fall 2008 is now accused of robbing a man at gunpoint early Saturday.

This weekend, King County prosecutors found probable cause to hold the 17-year-old and one of his alleged accomplices in the robbery, another 17-year-old boy. A female suspect, Malikah Kaashif, 18, was booked into the King County Jail. Monday; her bail was set at $15,000, according to jail records. She has not been charged.

Also Monday, King County Juvenile Court Judge Pro Tem Johanna Bender ordered both teenage boys held in secure detention, citing fear for community safety as the reason.

Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, said prosecutors are reviewing the case and weighing whether to charge the 17-year-olds as adults. Under state law, 16- and 17-year-olds accused of committing violent crimes, including first-degree robbery, can be "automatically declined" from the juvenile system and tried as adults.

Prosecutors are expected to decide by Wednesday what charges the teenage boys will face, Donohoe said.

Both 17-year-olds are felons, while Kaashif does not appear to have a criminal record, court records show.

The Seattle Times generally does not name juvenile suspects unless they are charged as adults.

The 17-year-old who pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge in McMichael's death allegedly brandished a gun while robbing a man of $200 around 5:50 a.m. Saturday in downtown Seattle, according to a Seattle police report. The gun looked like a "small Derringer" pistol but turned out to be a cigarette lighter, the report says.

The victim called 911 and said he was robbed at gunpoint near Third Avenue and Union Street, the report says. Based on the suspect descriptions he provided, officers found the three young people about five minutes later a few blocks away, at Sixth Avenue and Seneca Street. The victim was brought to the scene and identified the three suspects, the report says.

Two $100 bills were found on the suspects, along with 23.3 grams of marijuana, the report says.

The 17-year-old served about 72 weeks at Maple Lane School in Centralia for McMichael's death and another robbery on the night of the fatal attack, Oct. 25, 2008, Donohoe said. McMichael was briefly hospitalized and then allowed to return home, where he was found dead on Nov. 3, 2008.

The teen was released from detention on April 8 of this year. He was arrested last week for investigation of theft of a motor vehicle and placed on electronic home monitoring, Donohoe said. But prosecutors decided not to charge him because he was a passenger in the vehicle and he was released from home monitoring on Thursday, less than 48 hours before Saturday's robbery.

One of the teen's co-defendants in McMichael's slaying — who served 36 weeks in detention for the manslaughter conviction — is facing trial next month for the January robbery of a 17-year-old boy outside the Garfield Teen Life Center. Earlier this month, a judge refused to allow the boy, now 16, to be released on electronic home monitoring while awaiting trial because of concerns about community safety.

The third teen involved in McMichael's beating is now 17 and does not appear to have committed any additional crimes, court records show.

McMichael, 53, was a beloved street musician and a Seattle fixture known for playing his tuba outside sporting events. He was attacked by the three teens near a bus stop at Fifth Avenue North and Mercer Street.

The three teens all pleaded guilty in April 2009. At the time, Satterberg said the maximum sentences the three faced as juveniles were "not enough punishment."

But Satterberg said the law doesn't allow stiffer sentences for juveniles in such cases, and authorities didn't have eyewitnesses, which might have allowed adult charges — and longer sentences — in the case.

Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report, which also includes information from Times archives.

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