Wah Mee massacre

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The Wah Mee massacre was an incident on February 18, 1983, in which Kwan Fai (Willie) Mak, Wai-Chiu (Tony) Ng, and Benjamin Ng gunned down 14 people in the Wah Mee gambling club on Maynard Alley S. just south of S. King Street in Seattle's Chinatown/International District ("the I.D."). Thirteen of their victims lost their lives, but one survived to testify against the three in some of Seattle's highest-profile trials ever. It remains the worst mass murder in the city's history, challenged only by the March 25, 2006, Capitol Hill massacre.

The Wah Mee club operated illegally in a basement space in a predominantly Chinese neighborhood; despite some street drug dealing and a bit of prostitution, the area generally had a reputation for a low rate of violent crime. The club's regulars included many wealthy restaurant-owners, several of whom were among the victims. Security at the club was based in part on a system of passing through multiple successive doors, which had been used in similar International District gambling dens for generations, and had usually been quite effective. Mak and his accomplices defeated the system only because they were known and trusted by the people at the club. Their presumed intent was to leave no witnesses, since club patrons could readily identify them, as, in fact, the one survivor did.

[edit] Aftermath

On February 24, 1983 Benjamin Ng and Willie Mak were charged with 13 counts of aggravated first-degree murder. ^[1]

Wai-Chiu (Tony) Ng became the third suspect, charged in absentia on March 30, 1983 with 13 counts of aggravated first-degree murder.

In August 1983 Benjamin Ng was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

In October 1983, Willie Mak was convicted of murder and sentenced to die.

On June 15, 1984 Tony Ng became the 387th Ten Most Wanted Fugitive to be listed by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was arrested October 4, 1984 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Tony Ng was acquitted in April 1985 of murder, but convicted of 13 counts of first-degree robbery and a single count of assault with a deadly weapon. Each robbery charge brought a minimum sentence of five years, to be served consecutively.

On February 17, 1987 the Washington State Supreme Court issued a stay of execution a month before Willie Mak's scheduled execution, but on May 2, 1988 the state Supreme Court let Mak's murder conviction stand. However, then on November 10, 1988 Willie Mak's execution was delayed indefinitely by a federal judge.

On January 8, 1991 U.S. District Judge William Dwyer overturned Willie Mak's death sentence, saying Mak's attorneys failed to present evidence on their client's background that could have saved his life. On July 16, 1992 The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate Mak's death sentence.

On November 9, 1994 a King County Superior Court judge denied Mak's bid for a new trial but allowed prosecutors to hold a new sentencing hearing.

On February 15, 2002, a King County Superior Court judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 2002.

On April 29, 2002 a King County Superior Court judge ruled that Mak will not face the death penalty because the 1983 jury wasn't asked to determine how much of a role he had in the crime.

On September 6, 2006, a parole board met to determine whether Tony Ng should receive parole on his 12th robbery term. If given parole, he would begin serving his 13th term, and be eligible for parole and potentially freed in 2010. Both current King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng and former Seattle Police Chief Patrick Fitzsimons asked the parole board to deny parole on the 12th count. Relatives who came to the hearing expressed outrage that they were not made aware of previous parole hearings and that Tony Ng was so close to possible release because of it. ^[2]