A dispute broke out in court on Monday in Kent among friends and relatives of two men involved in the June 11 West Hill shooting death.
Christopher I. Hutton, 42, entered a not guilty plea to first-degree murder at the arraignment in King County Superior Court at the Maleng Regional Justice Center. King County prosecutors claim Hutton shot and killed JaeBrione Gary, 22, at an apartment reportedly to avenge some type of earlier robbery of Hutton by Gary.
More than a dozen of Gary’s friends and family members attended the arraignment. Several of Hutton’s family and friends also were present. Before the arraignment, a dispute broke out between the two parties. After several minutes, corrections officers calmed both parties so court could resume. Following the arraignment, another scuffle broke out in the hallway outside the courtroom.
Hutton’s attorney made a motion asking Judge Patrick Oishi to prevent the media from photographing Hutton’s face, citing a “fear of retaliation.” Oishi denied the motion, allowing photographs to be taken.
Hutton remains in the county jail in Kent with bail set at $1 million. Hutton, whose last known address was a Federal Way hotel, is scheduled to return to court on July 13 when a trial date could be set or attorneys could ask for more time to prepare the case.
According to charging papers, Hutton reportedly pistol whipped Gary and shot him three times at close range while chasing the unarmed Gary through an apartment in the 2700 block of South 256th Place.
Witness descriptions at the apartment complex of the suspect led a Kent Police officer to immediately recognize the description as being Hutton. The officer has worked for several years in the area of the shooting and had seen Hutton parked at the apartment complex in recent months in a late 1990s Cadillac El Dorado. Police had the license plate of the car and put out an all-points bulletin about Hutton and his vehicle.
Renton Police spotted the Cadillac shortly after the shooting and stopped Hutton in the 10500 block of Southeast Carr Road. He was taken into custody without incident.
Kent Police obtained a search warrant for the Cadillac and found in the trunk a chrome-color revolver wrapped in a wash rag inside a plastic grocery bag. The gun appeared to have a blood smear on it.
During an interview with detectives, Hutton denied any knowledge of the shooting of Gary and claimed he hadn’t been in that area in the previous three days. He also denied he had any guns in his car. He told detectives he had watched the NBA playoffs that night and then went to visit his wife’s residence in Renton. He said he was driving back to his Federal Way hotel when Renton Police stopped him.
Hutton has several criminal convictions, including two counts of first-degree promoting prostitution in 2007 in Kent, where he lived in an apartment. He used girls younger than 18 while running a prostitution ring.
Gary and Hutton had reportedly known each other for a number of years. An aunt of Gary told detectives that she had dated Hutton many years ago.
This marked the second time in three years that Gary had been shot. Gary testified in 2012 against a Seattle gang member who shot and wounded him outside of a South Seattle restaurant.
Reporter Steve Hunter contributed to this article.
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