Felon charged in Central Area restaurant shooting

A Seattle man was charged Tuesday with fatally shooting the owner of a well-known Central Area restaurant during a shooting spree a week ago.

Documents charging Rey Alberto Davis-Bell, 23, with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder don't reveal much of a motive for the alleged crime spree last Wednesday that began in Delridge and ended after the suspect's family helped police find him.

According to police, Davis-Bell argued over the phone with an ex-girlfriend sometime after 10 a.m. Wednesday and several minutes later sprayed her apartment building with gunfire, narrowly missing the ex-girlfriend's friend and the ex-girlfriend's baby.

Davis-Bell was angry that the ex-girlfriend and a new girlfriend had talked about him with each other, according to newly released charging documents.

Police said that Davis-Bell then got into a black 2002 Lincoln LS and drove to Philadelphia Cheese Steak, at the corner of 23rd Avenue and East Union Street, went inside and shot and killed owner Degene Barecha Dashasa, 32, who was standing behind his counter.

A customer, Yo S. Lee, also was shot and wounded as he stood near the front door, according to the charging documents.

While police searched for a suspect, several members of Davis-Bell's family approached them with information that eventually led police to Davis-Bell after an all-night manhunt.

He could face 108 to 131 years in prison if convicted of the charges, which also include a charge for unlawful possession of a firearm and firearm enhancements.

Charging documents don't indicate a possible motive in the shooting of Dashasa, whose last name was originally given by family members and friends as Barecha. The King County Medical Examiner's Office said Tuesday it had determined that Barecha was the slain man's middle name and that last name was Dashasa.

Davis-Bell, a felon who was once labeled "a danger to the community," was a familiar face to some of the business owners in the area. Dashasa reportedly had told Davis-Bell not to loiter near his restaurant.

Davis-Bell has previous convictions for assault and harassment. He threatened to shoot an employee at Miller Community Center in the Central Area in March 2002 after she asked him to leave the property, according to court records.

He was sentenced to six months in juvenile rehabilitation.

In June 2002, Davis-Bell threatened a cabdriver at gunpoint. He was convicted of assault and sentenced to four years in prison.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com