A 22-year-old Renton man is expected to face charges after investigators say he intentionally drove into a co-worker’s motorcycle in Issaquah, killing the rider after seeing him hug another co-worker in a Costco parking lot.
The victim was identified in court documents as Jonathon Langdon, a 20-year-old Issaquah man.
Issaquah police were called at 8:49 p.m. July 31 to the 800 block of Lake Drive for what was initially reported as a motorcycle crash. Officers found Langdon near a street sign, and Eastside Fire & Rescue personnel attempted to save him. He died at the scene.
The man, Langdon and the woman seen with him in the parking lot all worked at the Issaquah Costco warehouse, the documents said.
The suspect described the woman as his former girlfriend, but she told investigators they had not been dating.
According to investigators, the suspect saw Langdon and the woman together at the Costco parking lot.
Investigators said the man watched the woman hug Langdon and then sent photographs of them to friends.
One message said, “Always told me he was just a friend. My blood is boiling.”
Issaquah police tell the woman that she had repeatedly asked him for space and told him he was “crossing boundaries” as a friend.
She clarified to investigators that the two had never been in a romantic relationship.
Minutes after seeing the two together, the suspect got into his vehicle.
Surveillance video showed Langdon riding south on Lake Drive as a gray sedan traveled beside him with its driver’s-side wheels in the center turn lane, according to court documents. Investigators said the sedan moved to the right and struck the left side of the motorcycle, throwing Langdon from the bike and into a metal signpost.
The driver continued without stopping.
Nearly an hour after the collision, the suspect made a dramatic return.
Approximately one hour later, the suspect returned to the scene with a family member and agreed to speak with investigators.
The man was booked into the King County Jail on probable cause for second-degree murder. He is expected to face allegations of second-degree murder and second-degree assault with a deadly weapon.
Prosecutors requested that bail remain set at $2 million. They also asked that the man be barred from contacting the woman, Langdon’s family or any witnesses.
In the viral moment that sparked this tragedy, the suspect caught sight of Langdon hugging a female coworker in the Costco Headquarters parking lot on Lake Drive in Issaquah on July 31 at dusk. The woman, who worked with both men at the Costco warehouse, had made clear to the suspect that they were just friends and had asked him to respect boundaries. But the suspect had fixated on her, convinced she was his girlfriend. When he saw her embrace Langdon, he snapped. He photographed the moment and sent it to friends with rage-filled messages. Then he got in his gray sedan and hunted Langdon down on Lake Drive, swerving into the young man’s motorcycle path and sending him crashing fatally into a signpost.
Issaquah Police Chief Steve Mylett released a statement on behalf of the department.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victim as they process this tragic loss of life,” Issaquah Police Chief Steve Mylett said.
The suspect’s first court appearance is scheduled for Issaquah.