Fatal road rage shooting in SoDo resulted from suspect refusing to let victim merge

SEATTLE — The King County Prosecutors' Office has filed second-degree murder charges against a driver who allegedlyshot and killed a motorist last month in SoDo after the two were involved in a road rage confrontation , court documents show.

Angel Anthony Valderrama, 38, is accused of shooting Bob Jensen, 68, of Seattle, following a run-in on July 21 shortly after 10 a.m. in the 4100 block of 4th Avenue S. near a neighborhood Costco.

According to prosecutors, the confrontation ended in gunfire when Valderrama refused to allow Jensen's truck to merge in front of his when the roadway narrowed down to one lane.

Prosecutors requested that Valderrama be held on a $2 million bond. It was not immediately clear if he had posted the bail amount.

Jensen, who was driving a white pickup truck, was shot in the stomach with a Glock 9mm handgun. He was rushed for treatment to a local hospital, where he later died.

Investigators have said that Valderrama stayed at the scene in the moments after the shooting and had been cooperative with investigators immediately after the incident.

Authorities said the confrontation between the two men began when the suspect refused to allow the Jensen to merge his vehicle on 4th Avenue S., when the two lanes merge to one, the affidavit said.