Denny’s shooting suspect charged

KENT, Wash. – A man accused of opening fire in a Denny’s restaurant in this south Seattle suburb has been charged with five counts of first-degree assault.

Frank Lee Evans, 23, of Kent, walked into the restaurant early Sunday, and after flashing gang signs and threatening diners, approached a group of people he mistakenly thought had argued with him earlier outside a nightclub, according to charging papers filed in King County Superior Court.

He began throwing their food on the floor and, when one of the men stood up to him, Evans punched him, leading to a fist fight that knocked Evans to the floor, a deputy prosecutor said Wednesday. Evans fled to the parking lot, then quickly returned and began firing a handgun, according to charging papers.

Five people were injured. The most seriously injured victim, a man, has improved to serious condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a nursing supervisor said Thursday.

Eugene Michael Garrett, also 23 and from Kent, has been charged with second-degree assault, accused of throwing a chair at a restaurant patron, causing a cut that had to be closed with stitches. He, too, was carrying a semiautomatic handgun, according to charging papers.

Both Evans and Garrett were held at the King County Regional Justice Center, with bail set at $1 million for Evans and at $250,000 for Garrett, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County prosecutor’s office.

If convicted, Evans could face 63 to 76 years in prison and Garrett three to four years.