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LWSD | School board proposes to divert funds to combat overcrowding [7]
Kiwanis | Organization installs new president FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2014 [11]
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School | Kirkland schools participate in walk to school week [10]
Two men get 25 years each for “horrifying” home invasion assault BY MATT PHELPS mphelps@kirklandreporter.com
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King County Superior Court judge called the crimes in Kirkland of two men nearly a year ago “absolutely horrifying” and “merciless” before sentencing each of them to 25 years in prison
on Oct. 10. Blessing Gainey, 20, and Vincent Sisounong, 22, had no reaction to their fate for breaking into a Kirkland home last year and torturing 18-year-old Deep Rawat, whose family had just moved into the house. Defense attorney’s had asked for a 20-year sentence
for each man after they plead guilty to first-degree attempted murder and firstdegree burglary on Sept. 5. Rawat, who was in court with his family for the sentencing, was visiting his parents from Canada on Oct. 12, 2013. He was sleeping alone in the home when the men entered through
the basement. He awoke to Sisounong sitting on his chest with a 10-inch blade to his neck, telling him to fight for his life. The men attacked him with the knife, eventually dragging him to the basement. Gainey then mutilated Rawat’s legs to make sure he could not escape.
“These perpetrators were looking for a random house and a random human being to carry out their sick and twisted fantasies. Tortured to almost death, but also his youth and sense of security in his own home was completely snatched away,” Rawat’s sister said in court, [ more PRISON page 2 ]
Lawsuit Rawat family sues Comcast for negligence with home-security system in last year’s home invasion assault at Kirkland home. Story on page 2.
Firefighter involved in prostitution ring agrees to retire BY TJ MARTINELL tmarinell@kirklandreporter.com
Kirkland firefighter Michael David Aguilar Varela is retiring from the department, ending an internal investigation into his involvement in a prostitution ring earlier this year. The city of Kirkland was unable to comment on the matter other than to confirm Aguilar’s retirement. The investigation came about after Aguilar became entangled with a prostitution ring in February that resulted in the arrest of an alleged gang member, who threatened Aguilar for allegedly failing to pay a 19-year-old prostitute. The prostitute, who had a history of drug addiction and had her infant taken by Child Protective Services shortly after birth, stayed at Aguilar’s house for several days. He insisted to police they did not have sex, despite sleeping in the same bed together, and that he had been trying to get her help for her drug problem. Several days later the woman’s CPS worker
showed up at the firefighter’s home. Shortly after, the prostitute left in a blue vehicle driven by a black male. A few minutes later Aguilar received a phone call on his cell from a man claiming he wanted his money and that Aguilar had stolen $600 from the prostitute’s purse. In later interviews with police, the prostitute told police the man in the car was her “boyfriend.” In the written statement, Aguilar told police the man on the phone also said to him “I don’t give no [expletive] about no [expletive] police. I’ll burn your [expletive] house down!” In March, police conducted an undercover sting that resulted in the arrest of Dorond Alfred Bray, 39, of Los Angeles, for felony harassment and promoting prostitution. He was also believed to possess a stolen firearm. His blue BMW was identified as the same vehicle that pulled up in front of the firefighter’s house, though it is owned by his ex-girlfriend because he has no insurance, accord[ more RETIRE page 3 ]
Jim Neal and Bill Pollard, the managing principals at Talon Private Capital, have submitted a new master plan for Parkplace that will have more residential space but be smaller overall. TJ MARTINALL, Kirkland Reporter
A new plan for Parkplace Owners seek dialog with community on redevelopment BY TJ MARTINELL
tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com
After several false starts, the redevelopment of Kirkland Parkplace might finally be moving forward. Talon Private Capital has submitted a new master plan for the redevelopment of the site Tuesday to the city, hoping it will approve several zoning changes
that would allow for more residential space in order to appropriately scale a much smaller project. It is the first attempt at redevelopment of the site since 2010, when Touchstone’s master plan was approved by the city. The project was ultimately stopped due to financial reasons and the property sold. Now, the time is right
for redevelopment, according to Jim Neal and Bill Pollard, the principals of Talon. “The economy is moving in the right direction, companies are growing,” Neal said. “We think the stars are aligned.” They said their new master plan is intended to complement the surrounding community, taking advantage of
amenities already present while providing an urban center for people to live, work and play in the same area. With that in mind, the site was shrunk from the 2.75 million square feet permitted by zoning to 1.2 million, reducing the amount of office space by 50 percent. It also sets aside two acres of open space and plazas. Pollard said that the master plan was deliberately designed not to maximize the total density allowed by zoning in order to create a more intimate feel and reserve [ more TALON page 3 ]