West Central death ruled homicide
Victim was shot in head; police still seeking tips
A man found dead in a West Central alley Friday morning was shot multiple times in the head, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office. His death was ruled a homicide.
David B. Deponte, 28, was surrounded by a pool of blood when a resident found him while taking out the garbage. Police believe Deponte was walking through the alley when he was killed.
Deponte was from Connecticut, according to Jamie Urbanski, who said she had dated him for several years. He also went by his middle name, Brandon, Urbanski said.
“He loved me and his family a lot and kept coming back for me,” Urbanski said Monday. “He loved me with all his heart.”
Urbanski is seeking answers about the death and was emotional when talking about him Monday. Her mother, Stephanie Watson, called Deponte a beautiful man.
“His smile – that’s what I’m going to remember him by. It would light up the world,” Watson said. “I don’t understand. It’s so unfair.”
Deponte, a high school dropout, had a long criminal history in Whitman and Spokane counties.
He pleaded guilty in 2010 to smashing the car of an acquaintance with a hammer and damaging a police car by thrashing around during his ride to Spokane County Jail. He also pleaded guilty earlier this year to riot, serving 169 days in jail.
Police kept his body covered in the alley Friday morning while forensics crews and Major Crimes detectives canvassed the neighborhood for witnesses and suspects. A neighbor’s car was towed after the driver told police she might have hit the body unknowingly.
Police do not believe Deponte’s death is related to a second homicide later Friday about four blocks away in which a man allegedly killed his girlfriend.
Police are now piecing together the final 24 hours of Deponte’s life and are asking those who saw him alive or have any information regarding the death to call Crime Check (509) 456-2233.