YAKIMA, Wash. — Two suspects were arrested Monday in Seattle in connection with a weekend homicide in Yakima.

Police say the primary suspect in the shooting death of James Kilby of Union Gap is a 21-year-old Seattle man.

He and the second suspect, a 23-year-old Seattle man, were arrested after Yakima detectives went to Seattle to watch his house.

The pair arrived there about 1 p.m. Monday in the same vehicle in which they are believed to have fled the shooting scene at the Wray’s grocery store on Third Avenue.

Detectives had tracked down the suspects based on telephone information, Yakima police Lt. Mike Merryman said without elaborating.

Kilby was fatally shot Saturday night after the suspects pinned in his vehicle as his passenger fled into the store, investigators say.

The 19-year-old passenger had called Kilby, who was his roommate, to pick him up after a dispute developed between him and the homicide suspects at a house near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard.

The passenger was assaulted at that location, possibly in connection with a dispute over an informal rap music contest, police say.

“It’s becoming more and more apparent the driver of the car was simply there to pick up his friend — didn’t know what was going on,” Yakima police Lt. Mike Merryman said.

Previous reports have indicated that Kilby was a Kitsap County resident, but Merryman said he was most recently living in Union Gap. He had family ties across the state.

The suspects were booked into the King County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. They are expected to be returned soon to face the charges in Yakima County.

Merryman said detectives are still trying to identify and locate a third person who may have been involved in assaulting Kilby’s roommate.

Police said they waited to announce the arrests until this morning because detectives did not conclude their work in Seattle and return to Yakima until late Monday.

— Mark Morey

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/02/pair-suspected-in-shooting-death-arrested-in-seattle