In the early morning hours of July 6, 2016, a King County Sheriff's deputy patrolling the parking lot of a senior apartment complex in SeaTac, Washington, came across a two-door green Honda. A check of the license plate revealed it was stolen, and the plate itself belonged to a different stolen vehicle. Upon closer inspection, the deputy discovered the body of a man lying across the front seats. The deceased was later identified as 28-year-old Jesse A. Dacanay. An investigation by the King County Medical Examiner's Office would later determine that he had died from two gunshot wounds, one to the face and another to the back, with his death estimated to have occurred on the Fourth of July.
The investigation into the death of the young man quickly led detectives to a house in the 4200 block of South 85th Street, a location known to law enforcement for previous drug-related criminal activity. The car in which Dacanay was found was known to be frequently parked at this location, which was also a known drop-off point for stolen vehicles. Through their investigation, detectives learned that the dispute leading to the shooting was believed to be over a stolen car.
Following leads connected to the house, police arrested a frequent visitor on the night of July 6th. This individual informed investigators about a "dirty gun," a Derringer, that he had been instructed to get rid of. The following day, detectives recovered a loaded Derringer pistol wrapped in a sock from the man's vehicle. Ballistics testing later confirmed it was the weapon used to kill Dacanay, as the bullets were a match to those found in his clothing.
On July 18, authorities arrested 35-year-old Sebastian Guajardo in connection with the murder. He was subsequently charged with murder. Court records revealed that Guajardo had a violent criminal history, including prior convictions for first-degree and second-degree assault, making this his third "strike" offense and exposing him to a potential life sentence if convicted. At the time of the shooting, Guajardo was out on bail for an illegal firearm possession charge. According to investigators, on July 4th, Guajardo, along with another man and his two sons, had gone looking for the stolen Honda and found it at the retirement home complex where Dacanay's body was later discovered.
