FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: |
April 05, 2007 |
Acting U.S. Marshal David Miller
Seattle (206) 370-8602 |
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Seattle Gang Homicide Suspect
Arrested in California |
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A
major fugitive wanted on outstanding state
charges for murder has been arrested by a team
of law enforcement officers led by U.S. Marshals
in East Palo Alto, California.
Kafoa M. Hefa, 20, was being sought on a warrant
issued in Seattle charging him with murder. Hefa
was arrested on April 3, 2007 in East Palo Alto,
California by investigators serving on the U.S.
Marshal sponsored Northern California Fugitive
Task Force (NCTF) in conjunction with members of
the California State Parole Fugitive
Apprehension Team, the East Palo Alto Police
Department, and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s
Office.
Charging documents state, that on March 21,
2007, Hefa and other members of the Rainier
Beach area “Down With The Crew” gang were
playing dice at 4801 Rainier Avenue South in
Seattle with Randy West and associated members
of the rival “Central District Pyrus” gang. An
argument ensued between Hefa and West over a
forty dollar bet, and according to numerous
witnesses, Hefa produced a handgun and shot West
twice in the torso, fatally wounding him.
Friday, March 23rd, witnesses observed four car
loads of suspected rival gang members get out of
their vehicles and shoot over 80 rounds into the
home of Hefa’s parents located in SeaTac,
Washington in an apparent retaliation for the
killing. Hefa’s parents and grandmother had left
the residence only minutes earlier and narrowly
avoided the shooting.
The Seattle Police Department requested the
assistance of the Pacific Northwest Fugitive
Apprehension Task Force (PNWFAT) in locating and
apprehending Hefa. Based on information
developed by the PNWFAT, a lead was sent to the
U.S. Marshal’s Office in San Jose and the
NCTF began to investigate the case. After
conducting days of surveillance at various
locations in northern California, NCTF
investigators located Hefa in East Palo Alto, CA
and safely took him into custody. Hefa was
booked into to the San Mateo County Jail where
he is awaiting
extradition to Washington for the murder
charges.
The PNWFAT is a U.S. Marshals-sponsored
partnership comprised of investigators from the
King County Sheriff's Office, Seattle Police
Department, Social Security Administration
Office of the Inspector General, Washington
State Department of Corrections, Washington
State Patrol, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The
Task Force is supported by the Project Safe
Neighborhoods Initiative and was formed to
concentrate apprehension efforts to remove
federal, state and local fugitives from the
streets. The Task Force objective is to disrupt
illegal gang, gun and drug activity in the
Pacific Northwest and to reduce the amount of
violence in the region.
For additional information on other major case
fugitives, go to the U.S. Marshals Service’s
website at
www.usmarshals.gov or U.S. Marshal’s Western
Washington website at
www.usmarshals.gov/district/wa-w. For
additional information on the Project Safe
Neighborhoods (PSN) Initiative, go to the PSN
website at
www.psn.gov.
For information on the apprehension, call Acting
U.S. Marshal David Miller at 206-370-8602;
for information on the criminal case, call the
King County Prosecutor’s Office at 206-296-9000. |
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