Following an officer-involved shooting in Federal Way on Wednesday, the King County Sheriff’s SWAT team arrested a 28-year-old man believed to have killed the 16-year-old Des Moines boy whose body was found in the Green River last month.
Juan and Maria Carlos Con, the parents of Juan Carlos Con Guzman — who the King County Medical Examiner says died of multiple blunt-and-sharp-force injuries —were on scene following the arrest. Con Guzman’s mother was crying as she called family members to tell them of the arrest, and the father thanked police and the media for their help during the investigation.
A King County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team went to the Winco parking lot in Federal Way to arrest the suspect. When they set off flash-bang grenades, the man ran from the parking lot and down a hill in the 100 block of SW Campus Drive, said KCSO spokesman Ryan Abbott during a press conference at the scene.
An officer fired one shot at the suspect after the suspect went down on his knees and removed his handgun from his waistband. No one was injured. The suspect then threw his gun to the side and got down on the ground and officers apprehended him.
The man is the second suspect now in custody on suspicion of Con Guzman’s death. On Tuesday, detectives arrested a 20-year-old Federal Way man who is also suspected of killing the teen. Police have not yet established any relationship between the two suspects.
Police found both suspects through investigation. The KCSO has been in contact with Con-Guzman’s parents throughout the investigation, and called them on Tuesday night to notify them about their arrest of the first suspect.
Con-Guzman had just started his junior year at Mt. Rainier High School in Des Moines.
According to Abbott, two fishermen were walking along the bank of the river the morning of Sept. 10 in the 12700 block southeast of Green Valley Road when they saw a body in the water and called 911. The King County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit recovered the body later that afternoon.
Abbott said Con Guzman’s family had filed a missing person report at some point before he was found in the river, though the KCSO has not released information as to when that happened or how long he had been in the water.
Both suspects are being held at the King County Jail and charges are pending.
The Mirror will update this story when more information becomes available.
Juan Carlos Con, father of Juan Carlos Con Guzman, pictured on scene in Federal Way at the arrest of a 28-year-old man suspected to have murdered his son last month. Olivia Sullivan/staff photo
Evidence from the arrest is marked on the sidewalk along Southwest Campus Drive in Federal Way. Olivia Sullivan/staff photo
