Seattle man charged with murder in attempted burglary in Skyway

A Seattle man was charged Friday with first-degree murder after he allegedly shot another man to death in a confrontation after a burglary attempt on Monday in Skyway in South Seattle, King County prosecutors said.

Kylan K. Houle, 31, of Seattle, was charged Friday with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree.

At around 3 am. on Monday, a man later identified as Damon Allen called 911 to report someone was trying to break into his home, probable cause documents say.

Allen confronted two people, telling them to stop and remain where they were as they were about to drive away, and a struggle ensued, court documents say. Multiple gunshots were heard before the call went silent.

Officers arrived about 10 minutes later and found Allen dead on the street near a vehicle that had been reported stolen, court documents say.

Video from a neighboring home showed a man, later identified as Houle, get out of the car and walk toward the house while a woman waited in the driver’s seat, probable cause documents say.

Some time after, the woman got out and ran to the passenger side as Houle got into the driver’s seat, but had a hard time starting the car, according to charging documents.

The footage shows Allen running up to the vehicle and Houle opening fire while the woman runs away, charging documents say.

Houle went over to Allen, who was on the ground but still moving, and searched around him before shooting him in the head, probable cause documents say.

Houle prowled other vehicles in the neighborhood including Allen’s, according to investigators.

Officers did not find any firearms, suggesting that Houle may have taken Allen’s gun, which investigators believe Allen fired once during his 911 call, documents say.

Officials found a wallet inside the stolen vehicle that had Houle’s license, court documents say.

On Tuesday, officers followed Houle as he drove out of his apartment complex and arrested him on suspicion of Allen’s murder. Officials searched Houle’s vehicle under a warrant and found a backpack with two firearms, one of which was registered to Allen, probable cause documents say.

Houle remains in jail with bail set at $4 million because of 50 previous failures to appear in court, and the fact that he was already out on bail when he is alleged to have killed Allen, charging papers say.

Houle’s girlfriend was initially booked into the King County Jail on investigation of homicide in connection with Allen’s fatal shooting. She was released Wednesday night and is not facing criminal charges.

Houle has not been assigned a laywer.

Seattle Times staff reporter Sara Jean Green contributed to this report.