Prosecutors say Seattle man threatened 'extreme action' before killing homeless man

SEATTLE – Police say a Seattle man was angry at the transient population over a broken window and driven in part by racial animosity when he killed a homeless man in Northwest Seattle last Thursday.

John Thomas Davis was charged with second-degree murder in King County Superior Court in the death of Daniel Alberto. Davis' bail was set at $1 million.

According to court documents obtained by Q13 News:

Davis has been angry at Alberto since late July, when he called 911 to report a homeless person had broken a window in his home. Davis told police at the time that a “South American” man had broken the window, and after the shooting allegedly told police he believed Alberto was that man.

Detectives said Davis called them repeatedly in the weeks after the window was broken, and that he texted an acquaintance that a friend was going to come by with his large adult son and “we’re going to do something about this, seriously.” They said he later sent them a photo of Alberto, and that he went to Fremont Fellowship recently looking for him.

Over the past few months, police said, Davis grew increasingly angry with crime and the homeless population, and “acted on his anger, appearing to have intentionally confronted people while armed on occasion.” Police and dispatchers repeatedly warned him not to hostilely confront people.

Detectives said in July, he texted a friend saying “I might have to take extreme action against them in order to protect myself.”

On Thursday, police were called to a shooting near Fremont Fellowship. They found Alberto and sent him to the hospital, where he died. A knife was found nearby, and police said Alberto was known to carry weapons and act violently.

David told police he was on his way to Fremont Fellowship to ask a staff member to make a statement against Alberto so he could have him arrested. He said he saw Alberto, who threatened him and blocked his car in before coming to his window with a knife. He said Alberto told him to leave, which made him mad because he “perceived Alberto as a foreigner who had no right to tell him … to leave his ‘own’ neighborhood.”

Detectives said they found surveillance video of the incident, which showed that Davis did not, in fact, act in self-defense.

According to probable-cause documents, “Davis made comments to police about not backing down, standing his ground, and having too much pride to flee prior to the shooting.”