Inmate’s Tip Led To Arrest In Murder

A jail inmate’s tip led to the arrests of two men in the slaying of a man whose death prompted his family to display a billboard notice seeking information about the crime, charging papers say.

Darrell Everybodytalksabout, 40, and Phillip Lara Lopez, 23, are scheduled to be arraigned Friday on first-degree murder charges in the slaying of Rigel Brett Jones, 24, of Juanita.

Charging papers filed Wednesday by King County prosecutors claim the suspects targeted Jones as a “jake” - an easy mark - and killed him for $65 and his ski jacket.

Jones was stabbed in the chest and left to die alongside his pickup in a parking lot next to the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle’s Pioneer Square district in the early morning hours of Feb. 4, 1996.

After his killing, Jones’ picture was displayed on a billboard for a month just a few feet away from where he was found, and a $10,000 reward was offered. The billboard read: “Were you here when I was murdered? Did you see me with my truck?” According to charging papers, Lopez said he and Everybodytalksabout beat Jones, and that Everybodytalksabout stabbed Jones before going through his pockets.

Everybodytalksabout admitted being present during the slaying, but has tried to shift the blame to Lopez.

A King County Jail inmate being held on a probation violation and for investigation of assault, told detectives he witnessed the killing.