No charges in fatal WA struggle over boat motor

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A prosecutor says he won’t file any charges against an Everett, Wash., man for his part in a fatal struggle with a young man he suspected of trying to steal a boat motor.

Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe tells The Daily Herald the July death of 23-year-old Dylan Thomas Jones could have been avoided. However, Roe says there isn’t enough evidence to prove the death was a crime.

Prosecutors don’t think they could prove the 67-year-old boat owner intended to kill Jones, intended to assault him or was acting with criminal negligence.

The medical examiner concluded Jones died of asphyxia from being choked. But he also concluded that acute methamphetamine intoxication contributed to the death.

The newspaper did not identify the older man, who told detectives he found Jones trying to steal a boat motor and pinned him down with an arm around the neck to hold him for police. He asked a neighbor to call 911.

The boat owner was not immediately reachable for comment Tuesday. He told the newspaper earlier he wished Jones had run off.

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Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com