Frye Seattle

Police believe they know who pulled the trigger in this winter's murder of Glennis Parker as he sat in the cab of his truck at the Union 76 station at 9th and James. From the Seattle Times:

Prosecutors say Zachary Collins has been on the run since February, when he is accused of fatally shooting his stepfather in the head as the older man sat in his pickup outside a gas station on Seattle's First Hill.

Collins was charged with second-degree murder on Monday and a $1 million warrant was issued for his arrest, said Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.

Collins, 20, has no verified address or phone and is known to move between Seattle and Portland, according to prosecutors. He is described as black, 5-feet-10 and 170 pounds with brown eyes, black hair and a medium skin tone.

According to charging documents, a security guard at the Puget Sound Blood Center called 911 to report shots fired just before 2:30 a.m. Feb. 9.

He saw a man with dreadlocks running from the 76 gas station at 914 James St., where officers later found Glennis Parker, 56, dead behind the wheel of his still-idling pickup, charging papers say.

Parker had been shot three times in the head.

Travel Channel recently published its list of Top 10 Free Museums in the U.S.  First Hill's Frye Art Museum made the cut:

The Frye Art Museum has been carrying on the legacy of its founders and bringing free art to the larger Seattlecommunity since 1952. In addition to the free exhibits at the museum, visitors can participate in Art Talks with curators and educators, 1-hour interactive Guided Tours and the Magic Lantern series with screenings and talks on the art of film. For a real splurge, pay $5 for Tuesday’s Tea and Tour event which includes a guided stroll through the galleries followed by some discussion over tea and snacks.

Have you been to the Frye? What is a favorite piece of art in the collection?

First Hill Seattle received a tip from reader Robby Delaware, who alerted us that an interesting sculpture he had photographed at Jefferson Terrace, had fallen in to disrepair.  It was originally designed as a fountain and finished in 1969.  

The sculptor was James Fitzgerald (1910 - 1973), who designed the original fountain sculptures that decorated the entrance to the 520 Evergreen Point Floating Bridge when it opened in 1963.  These two fountain sculptures were later shut down to save money on electricity and maintenance.  The sculptures that we now see ("Aurora Borealis") were conceived by a businessman named Max Gurvich and donated to Washington State in 2002.  Fountain sculptures were Fitzgerald's trademark and his "Fountain of the Northwest" sculpture is still visible at Seattle Center.

We contacted Seattle Housing Authority to alert them regarding the sculpture's sad state and will update this post when we hear back from them. 

The SPD Blotter just announced that they received a tip yesterday that led to the arrest of a sex offender, who appeared on the "Washington's Most Wanted" television show.  Here is the information from the Blotter:

On May 3rd, at approximately 1:30 PM, Crime Stoppers received a tip that a suspected sex offender profiled on Washington’s Most Wanted television show was in the area of Broadway and Jefferson Street.  That tip resulted in a 911 call to Seattle Police and officers checked out the area.  The tip provided a clothing description of the suspect, but he was not immediately located.  At about 3:00 PM,  the suspect was seen in the same area.  Officers responded and observed the suspect walking westbound on James Court near Broadway.  The suspect then turned onto Broadway and began walking southbound.  Officers approached him and told him to stop.  At that point, the suspect took off at a sprint.  An off-duty officer who was working  in the area joined in the foot pursuit.  The officer observed the suspect throw a white object underneath a car as he was running.  The officers caught up with the suspect and took him into custody without any further incident.  Officers were able to confirm the suspect’s identity, along with his outstanding warrants for failing to register as a sex offender.  Officers were able to retrieve the item the suspect tossed and it turned out to be crack cocaine.  The suspect was booked into the King County Jail on outstanding warrants and felony narcotics possession charges.

We have contacted SPD for information as to the identity of this individual.

On February 9, 2010, Glennis Parker was found dead in the 76 gas station parking lot at Terry and James.  Casey McNerthney of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that police are looking for Parker's adult stepson to question him about the homicide.  Police have received a tip that Parker's adult stepson quarreled with Parker over Parker's alleged molestation of his disabled younger brother.    The adult stepson has not yet been located, and Parker's widow and family deny knowledge of his whereabouts.