AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — Devine Bullard made his first appearance in court Tuesday afternoon.
Bullard was accused of shooting and killing 28-year-old Wyatt Walker during an argument at the Sands Mobile Home Park on S. Lawson St. near 18th Ave. Law enforcement said the incident began at Shorty Combs Park where Bullard said he was in some sort of dispute with children who called him a racial slur.
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Superior Court Commissioner Eugene Cruz allowed Bullard’s family members, friends and associates to speak on Bullard’s behalf during the first court appearance.
A cousin described him to the judge as a good person, and “very chill.”
His grandmother, who said she raised him since he was a baby, “loved kids,” and “isn’t that bad.” She said Bullard’s mother was killed when he was an infant.
The owner of a company Bullard works for also spoke on his behalf Tuesday, saying he is “reliable,” and calling him a “peacemaker.”
Bullard’s girlfriend testified that her kids were being bullied, and enduring racial slurs leading up to the incident. She told the court that Bullard prevented six or seven men associated with the kids accused of bullying from entering her house over the bullying claims, and that she feared for her family’s safety. She credited Bullard for protecting her family.