Does Murder Suspect Have Self Defense Claim?
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Does Murder Suspect Have Self Defense Claim?
Multiple sources tell J425 that occupants of car set out to rob Mohammed Jaiteh as result of escalating feud. Seattle Rotary star held on $1 million bond.
Editor’s Note: This story contains the stylized inclusion of quotes J425 obtained while investigating the situation surrounding the October 13 shooting that led to the death of Isaac Ray Aney and the charging of Mohammed Jaiteh. The italicized pull quotes are on the record direct quotes provided to J425 by sources with direct knowledge of the situation or those involved. Because of the violent nature of the subject matter and the weight of what’s at stake for both Jaiteh and the three occupants of the vehicle…and due to the fact that the police granted anonymity to the occupants of the vehicle, J425 granted anonymity to witnesses that came forward and provided on-the-record statements regarding Jaiteh, the car occupants and the nature of the feud between these individuals. In every case, J425 independently verified the source’s identity and connection with the subject matter. The information testified to by the sources in this story is readily available to any investigator, be it one working to clear Jaiteh or those backing the state’s effort to incarcerate him. - KTH
“Just Before 1:30 PM 18 year old Mohammed Jaiteh aka Mo is walking along the 1200 block of East Casino Road in Everett. Mo recognizes a Acura full of his opps that had made it clear it's up when they see him drive pass him & then commit a fateful u-turn… Motive for the shooting is believed to be threats of violence from (those in the car) who claim to be GD's (Gangster Disciples) so when Mo saw them do that U-turn he knew it was either him or them & stood his ground. All three in the car Tmoney, NoLimitJesse & Taysy/Tay2Paid cooperated with Everett Police & their information led to the arrest of Mohammed Jaiteh aka Mo who is facing 2nd degree murder charges being held on a million dollar bond.” - Varrios2Hoods Instagram (sic)
SNOHOMISH COUNTY COURTHOUSE — Mohammed “Mo” Jaiteh, an 18-year-old Mariner High School student and noted prep basketball player remains in Snohomish County Jail, held on a million-dollar bond, charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 18-year-old Isaac Ray Aney, a Class of 2023 Mariner High School student.
The shooting occurred at 1:25 pm Friday, October 13 on the 1200 block of East Casino Road, abutting the south side of the Cascade High School campus.
“I was told they planned to rob Mo on Friday. But when they saw him they weren’t ready.”
Jaiteh was walking eastbound on Casino Road – he’d have reached his house in just a few short blocks. Aney and three passengers were headed westbound on Casino Road.
Based on statements provided by passengers in Aney’s vehicle, police pieced together the following:
“(The witness) saw Jaiteh walking on the 700 block of Casino Road under the 526 overpass just prior to the shooting. The witness stated that they drove westbound past Jaiteh in the vehicle, and after seeing him, conducted a u-turn to drive east back towards Jaiteh. As they did this, Jaiteh began shooting at them.”
“Mo said he was walking with headphones, felt off, turned around to people masked up clutching and running at him. He let off at them and then let off at the car to make sure he wasn’t shot from the vehicle as he ran.”
The probable cause narrative relies almost exclusively on the information provided by the three occupants of Aney’s car.
According to police, ‘consent examinations of witness phones‘ provided evidence of a “clear volatile conflict between Jaiteh and the people inside the vehicle”.
“(Car occupant) told —— to avoid the u-turn since they weren’t ready for anything but —— refused to listen since other passengers in the vehicle told him to continue.
Further, each of the occupants identified Jaiteh by name as the shooter, with two naming Jaiteh at the scene and a third apparently phoning an Everett detective later in order to identify Jaiteh as the shooter.
“—— asked if that was Mo, and that’s when the other passengers told him to turn which is when Mo started shooting”
Based on these interviews and consent examination of the witness phones, police described the following scenario in charging documents: “Suspect shot the victim, firing multiple times at an occupied vehicle in daylight, near a school. Multiple people were within the vehicle.”
Jaiteh was picked up by police later that evening and booked on second-degree murder charges.
According to the charging documents, Jaiteh offered no statement and police did not locate a murder weapon.
“(Passenger 1) told me he didn’t know (passenger 2) was armed.”
The three passengers of Aney’s car are provided anonymity in charging documents and their identity is given no consideration in initial media coverage of the incident – this despite the fact that the entire theory charging Jaiteh with murder rests on their description of events.
Even without additional context, the fact that the passengers held a “clear volatile conflict” with Jaiteh and volunteered that they visually identified Jaiteh while driving the route Jaiteh takes to walk home from school – and after identifying him, chose to flip a u-turn and head back towards him – provide context clues as to why a basketball star with no criminal record might produce a firearm and let off numerous shots.
“(Car occupant) told — to not pop the U-turn. I’m sure (car occupant) wouldn’t lie about something like that. He told me the other passenger basically pressured — into doing it”
In the days following the shooting, J425 established the identities of the three passengers as well as their association with Jaiteh.
We also heard from those close to Jaiteh with respect to just what Mo was thinking as the fateful events took place.
J425 also conducted interviews with numerous individuals close to either Jaiteh, the three passengers, and in some cases – both.
And while the information provided is not definitive – the same could be said about the information used to charge Jaiteh.
“--- told me (passenger 2) was the only one armed and that he didn’t even know he was till after the shooting”.
At the very least, the information turned up in our investigation is material that needs to be examined by those with the resources to get to the bottom of the matter.
It’s J425’s basic assumption that given access to the phones of those inside the car that day, much of this information will be readily apparent to investigators.
According to classmates, mutual contacts and social media sites that index Snohomish County street culture:
The occupants of the vehicle planned on robbing Jaiteh that Friday, in the latest escalation of a feud between parties that had grown over multiple months.
The passengers carried violent reputations and were allegedly known to brandish weapons and flaunt connections to violent street gangs.
Despite embarking on a quest to locate and rob Jaiteh, there was confusion in the car when Jaiteh was spotted, with one passenger attempting to call off the robbery while others pressed forward. Ultimately the u-turn was taken.
Further, according to parties close to Jaiteh,
Jaiteh had feared the possibility of an attack for some time, and had taken to social media, posting warnings that – if attacked – he’d fire back.
Jaiteh had previously been robbed by a passenger of the vehicle, and the escalating feud that followed emanated from the initial incident.
Jaiteh was on his way home from school in order to change and got his job at Domino's Pizza, and was just three blocks from home when the incident occurred.
“Mo said three people ran up on him – three people hopped out masked up looking like they were clutching, they were reaching for what he thought was guns as he turned around and saw them.”
Additionally, J425 can report a key difference between the official narrative and how the situation allegedly unfolded from Jaiteh’s perspective, with those close to Mo telling J425 that Mo did not fire on a car filled with four occupants.
Instead, several sources tell J425 that Mo encountered multiple masked individuals approaching him from behind on foot, leading to a scenario in which – after the u-turn – occupants rushed Mo from the rear.
Whether occupants of the car were armed, as several individuals told J425…and whether instead of remaining in the vehicles as supposed in the charging documents, multiple occupants of the car exited the vehicles after the u-turn, masked up, and approached Jaiteh from behind…these fact patterns should be issues that will ultimately be resolved in black and white.
Accordingly, J425 returned to these points multiple times, questioning our sources in detail on these points. We cannot report to the veracity of their statements. We can tell you that this is the story they wish the wider public to hear.
At the end of the day, if the occupants of the car told numerous people of their intent to rob Jaiteh both before and after the shooting occurred, this will be proven out in interviews and social media forensics that the police will no doubt undertake.
If the occupants were armed, then when the police initially detained them upon clearing the scene, one would assume the weapon(s) and or masks would’ve been located and indexed. If the occupants of the car had some other viable explanation for why they verbally identified Jaiteh and then embarked on a U-turn to confront him — J425 is sure that material will ultimately come out. In the meantime though, it does provide food for thought as to just how police are able to hold Jaiteh on second-degree murder charges with this seeming abundance of explanations that the events of October 13 are something entirely different than Jaiteh randomly shooting up a vehicle “in the daylight” and “near a school”.
This is a developing story. J425 will continue to report as information becomes available.
On Self Defense
Washington is a stand-your-ground state, meaning no statute requires you to retreat if you’re being attacked in an area where you should legally be. In short, you don’t have to try to escape to safety; instead, you should use the necessary force to protect yourself.
In Washington, you may legally use self-defense if:
● You reasonably believe that someone is about to injure you
● You’re trying to prevent someone from “maliciously trespassing” or interfering with your property.
Deadly Force
The degree of force applied in self-defense is limited to what a prudent person would consider reasonable and necessary under the defendant’s conditions when they acted. Deadly force is only allowed in self-defense if the defendant reasonably believes they were threatened with death or significant personal injury.
Some hypothetical reasons why someone in Jaiteh’s position could’ve felt threatened with death or significant personal injury:
● If he’d been previously robbed by passengers in the car.
● If he’d been directly threatened by people in the car.
● If he had reason to believe that those in the car were armed.
● If persons donned ski masks and approached unexpectedly.
Previously:
