A Seattle man who claimed he shot and killed another man in self-defense was arrested Wednesday, the third anniversary of the homicide, after detectives say they disproved the suspect's story.
A Seattle man was charged with second-degree murder this week in connection with a shooting three years ago after homicide detectives were able to use DNA and blood-spatter evidence to disprove his claim of self-defense, according to King County prosecutors.
Nigel Hogan, now 28, was charged in the death of Jerome Jackson, 24, and with first-degree assault for shooting a 34-year-old man in the face in the 6900 block of 23rd Avenue Southwest just before 2 a.m. Oct. 24, 2015, charging papers say.
Hogan was booked into jail later that day but was released without charges being filed, court records show. Police said Hogan, Jackson and Jackson’s brother had been in a dispute for five years over a $200 debt, The Seattle Times reported at the time.
Hogan was booked into the King County Jail on Wednesday night and his bail was set at $1 million on the murder and assault charges, but he’s being held without bail for failing to appear in court on an unrelated charge, jail records show.
Most Read Local Stories
According to the charges:
After Jackson’s brother received a phone call that Hogan had “jumped” Jackson somewhere off Delridge Way Southwest, the brother and three friends drove to the High Point neighborhood of West Seattle to try to find Jackson.
They picked him up and Jackson told the men Hogan and his friends had cornered him as he got off a bus and he and Hogan fought, the charges say. The foursome drove in a Jeep Commander until Jackson pointed out Hogan’s Ford Crown Victoria.
Jackson’s brother got out of the Jeep to confront Hogan and Hogan pulled a gun and started firing, the charges say. The brother ran away and heard gunshots behind him; he later returned to the scene, where he learned from police that Jackson had been fatally shot.
One of the Jeep’s occupants was also shot while seated in the back seat but got out of the vehicle just before the driver drove off, the charges say.
It was the wounded man who Hogan said had come at him to support his claim of self-defense — but detectives determined his claim was “demonstrably false” since a forensic analysis showed the shooting victim had been shot while inside the Jeep, the charges say.
Hogan had also claimed Jackson had assaulted Hogan’s girlfriend while she was seated in the front passenger seat of the Crown Victoria. But DNA evidence confirmed that a large amount of blood found in the car belonged to Jackson, say charging papers.