Carolyn Piksa, a longtime Seattle Parks and Recreation department employee, was ordered held on $1 million bail after police said she shot fellow employee Bill Keller on Friday and also confronted another parks employee at the Bitter Lake Community Center.
The 46-year-old waived her right to appear at her bail hearing, which was held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at King County Jail. The small courtroom was packed with television cameras, which chased after one of Piksa’s elderly relatives despite her saying she didn’t want to talk.
Court documents submitted by police say Piksa admitted to the shooting and the confrontation at Bitter Lake, and that she stole the purse of the woman she allegedly confronted.
Piksa in her driver's license photo. (SPD)
Her nephew, Cody Shearer, told reporters that Piksa had suffered emotional trauma that affected her.
In 1985, Piksa’s sister and that woman’s husband were killed in an execution-style shooting in a Pierce County cemetery. Last year, her Burien home was burglarized and her dog, Roulette, was killed. That led to her feeling unsafe and paranoid, Shearer told reporters.
While Piksa didn’t have a criminal record in Washington – traffic tickets and a civil matter are her only court cases – an arrest warrant had been issued for her in Marion (Ore.) County. Oregon State Police records show an unlawful firearm possession case was filed Dec. 3, and Piksa’s address is listed as the Burien home where police arrested her Friday afternoon.
Since there was an arrest warrant out for her, she's not exactly a lawful gun owner. But Mikeb, you place too much faith in your proposals. She stayed within the law up to the incident in Oregon, so what justification would there have been for making her a prohibited person before that? You're ready to sacrifice rights on suspicion, but that's not how our system works. Rights must only be curtailed after due process.
ReplyDeleteShe's one of yours, Greg. You can't get out of it. Hidden criminals are part of your group.
DeleteAnd a part of your group, especially considering the felony record of mayors in Mayors Against Guns. But it's disingenuous to call people who are criminals, hidden or otherwise, lawful.
DeleteI like the "hidden criminal" idea. I can use it to demonize virtually any group. And I don't have to worry about timing, rules of evidence (or even the existence of evidence) or that pesky due process. What a great way to circumvent the constitution. Truly an idea worthy of Cheney or Rumsfeld.
ReplyDelete