Tukwila Police arrested three Auburn residents, ages 20, 18 and 16, as suspects in a 2022 murder of a 30-year-old Kent man at the Westfield Southcenter Mall in Tukwila.
Tukwila officers responded on Nov. 18, 2022, at approximately 6:39 p.m. to reports of a shooting in a parking garage.
According to court documents, surveillance video shows the three subjects park a previously reported stolen vehicle in a parking garage at the Southcenter Mall next to the vehicle of Chris and Mary Wesolowicz.
Two subjects exit the stolen vehicle and one smashes the rear driver’s side window of the Wesolowicz’s vehicle as the second stands lookout, according to court documents. The third subject sits in the driver’s seat of the stolen vehicle appearing to hold a firearm.
Video shows Chris and Mary Wesolowicz walking back to the vehicle and unlocking the vehicle with a key fob, resulting in the lights on the vehicle to flash. The two subjects outside jump back into the stolen vehicle and Chris Wesolowicz jumps on the stolen vehicle’s windshield, slamming his back on the glass.
Chris Wesolowicz lands back on the ground and video shows a subject in the front passenger seat raising his right hand prior to four gunshots firing through the front windshield, according to court documents. Additional gunshots fire through and shatter the front driver’s window and the stolen vehicle flees the scene.
Chris and Mary Wesolowicz run and both fall to the ground.
Upon arrival at the scene, officers located Chris Wesolowicz with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the Tukwila Police Department. Wesolowicz died as a result of his wounds at the scene despite efforts from first responders to save his life.
Mary Wesolowicz sustained a gunshot wound to the hand.
The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle immediately following the shooting, according to the news release.
In the months following the incident, the investigation of Tukwila detectives established probable cause for the arrest of three Auburn residents for second-degree murder.
Investigation identified the three suspects as members of the Pacific North Line Mob, a gang.
On May 17, multiple law enforcement agencies assisted Tukwila detectives with serving arrest warrants at three locations in Auburn, including the Valley SWAT, King County Sheriff’s Office SWAT, and Tacoma SWAT, according to the news release.
Law enforcement arrested the three suspects — a 20-year-old man, 18-year-old man and 16-year-old boy — without incident and booked the two adult subjects into the King County Jail and juvenile subject into the King County Clark Children and Family Justice, according to the news release.
The King County Superior Court held first appearance hearings for the two men the next day on May 18. The 22-year-old subject waived his first appearance with his defense attorney representing him.
King County prosecutors argued for the court to set bail for the 20-year-old and 18-year-old at $2 million “because of the danger to the community,” according to an email from Casey McNerthney, director of communications at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The court set the bail at the recommended $2 million and found probable cause for murder in the second degree and attempted theft of a motor vehicle for both men, according to McNerthney’s email.
At the 16-year-old subject’s first appearance hearing in juvenile court, the court ordered the teen detained as a “threat to community safety” and found probable cause for second-degree murder.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office expects to formally charge the suspects on May 19.
Mary Wesolowicz posted on Facebook about her husband shortly after his death.
“Chris was one of the most selfless people you could have ever met, he was always stepping in to lend a hand and never asking when he himself needed help,” she said. “He was fun-loving and had so many adventures ahead of him.
“I urge you to tell your loved ones that you love them, always let that be the last thing you say to them, because you never know when it will be the last time.”
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