With one 16-year-old now in custody, authorities in Washington state
late Friday hunted for another teen suspected of beating an 88-year-old
World War II veteran to death.
Delbert Belton was in the
parking lot outside the Eagles Lodge in Spokane on Wednesday night,
waiting for a friend to pick him to go bowling, when the two teens
robbed and assaulted him, leading to his death, police Chief Frank
Straub Jr. said.
Both suspects have been arrested and convicted in the past, including on assault charges, according to the chief.
"We have somebody who
served his country during World War II, was injured during his service,
was a distinguished veteran," Straub said. "...I don't really care, to
be perfectly honest with you, what their motive was. We're not going to
tolerate that type of behavior."
Spokane police arrested one suspect Thursday night and charged him with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
The other alleged 16-year-old culprit was still at large Friday evening.
Straub identified him as
Kenan Adams-Kinard, naming him even though he's a juvenile because "he
represents ... an actual danger to the community."
"We're hoping that he
surrenders," the police chief said. "But, if not, I can assure the
community that he'll be in custody pretty quickly."
'A wonderful angel'
A retired aluminum
company worker who served in the Pacific arena, Belton took a bullet in
the leg during the Battle of Okinawa, friends say.
Decades after that, he
was well at home in Washington among his many friends, who
affectionately called him "Shorty" because of his diminutive height.
"He was awesome," Lillian Duncan told The Spokesman-Review newspaper. "Anybody that didn't get to know him missed out on a wonderful angel in their life."
One who did was Ted
Denison, who called himself "mechanic buddies" having worked on cars
alongside Belton for over 20 years. The two also would go dancing and
eat breakfast together.
The Eagles Lodge was one
of Belton's favorite places, going there two or three times a week and
playing pool even though, by his own admission, he wasn't very good at
it.
According to the
42-year-old Denison, Belton never had problems outside the lodge before
-- no threats, no altercations, nothing -- until Wednesday night.
"If he had, I would made sure I was there," Denison said.
Family says attack 'didn't seem real'
Police found Belton
prone in the parking lot, with the Spokane County Medical Examiner's
Office determining he'd died Thursday of blunt facial and head injuries.
His daughter-in-law,
Barbara Belton, told CNN's Alina Machado that she couldn't fathom the
reason for and viciousness of the attack.
"He didn't drive a big
fancy car. He didn't didn't dress in expensive clothes. He didn't have a
lot of money," she said. "What did they think they were going to get
from this man?"
After the incident,
police scoured surveillance videos, wiped a nearby chain link fence for
fingerprints and used dogs to hunt for clues.
Meanwhile, the veteran's family is trying to make sense of his sudden death.
Barbara Belton -- who
broke the bad news to the victim's 65-year-old son, William, who is
suffering from cancer and happened to be in the hospital -- said that
"it didn't seem real."
She said: "It's a terrible way to have to die."
Tweet Follow @punshcomempower
50% off Hosting for your Website at GoDaddy.com!
It's a BIG Deal! $5.99* .COM from GoDaddy.com!
It's a BIG Deal! $5.99* .COM from GoDaddy.com!
Host a site without stress on namecheap eApps|YOUR APP HOSTING PROVIDER
Submit your Website
Free webmaster resources including SEO Tools, Computer Glossary, Templates Sign up to BIGTIMEBUX today!
0 comments:
Post a Comment