Services held for teen killed in mall shooting
By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
P-I REPORTER

Dozens of people crowded a South Seattle funeral home Saturday to mourn Daiquan L. Jones, the 16-year-old shot and killed at Westfield Southcenter during last weekend's rash of youth violence.

Jones died Nov. 22 after a fight between him and another group erupted in gunfire. Another teen, Jermaine McGowan, 16, was wounded but survived.

He and McGowan were among 11 people shot in the greater Seattle area that weekend. Police suspect that many of the shootings, including the violence at the mall, stemmed from rivalries between area street gangs.

On Saturday, mourners somberly made their way into the Dayspring-Fitch & Sons funeral home at the corner of Rainier Avenue South and Lucille Street. Some wore memorial T-shirts imprinted with Jones' picture.

"We all want to be together and get my nephew buried peacefully and let justice do its part," said one woman leaving the service who identified herself as Jones' aunt.

An older-model limousine escorted some relatives to service. As the car doors opened, a man in a cap and leather jacket dabbed tears with a tissue. An adult woman with her hair tied back was warmly embraced by several others standing on the curb.

The family asked that reporters not attend the service.

Jones, whose mother had recently died, was enrolled at Opportunity Skyway alternative school where teachers said he appeared set on improving his life. Only a week before the shooting, he had been released from the Green Hill juvenile rehabilitation center in Chehalis, where he served a sentence for robbery and burglary.

Seattle police officers kept watch over the service from across the street, showing a heavy presence to deter any potential violence from rivals. Three patrol cars were parked nearby in addition to unmarked cars driven by Gang Unit detectives. Police planned to monitor other youth-related activities Saturday night for clashes between rival gangs.

Capt. Les Liggins, the South Precinct commander, said police had heard no rumors or threats of retaliation. The heavy police presence was staged as a precaution for "the safety of all," he said.

"This has had such a huge impact on the community…and we want to do our part," said Liggins, who was at the site during the entire 90-minute service. "We want to make sure that there are no events."

The man charged with Jones' slaying, Barry L. Saunders, 21, was arrested at a Portland motel on Wednesday. Saunders, who has lived in Kent and Tukwila, is in custody and awaiting extradition to King County, where he will be arraigned on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree assault.

According to charging documents filed in King County Superior Court, Saunders came to the mall with his brother, a girlfriend and a friend of his brother. Saunders' brother and his friends wound up in a confrontation with Jones and McGowan. The shooting happened after the brother called for Saunders' help.