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Murder suspect back in the U.S.

Christopher Shade and co-accused Kevin Patterson were arrested Sept. 17 in Abbotsford
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Christopher Shade

One of two U.S. murder suspects arrested in Abbotsford in September has now been returned to his home country.

Christopher John Shade, 18, was moved to King County Correctional Facility in Seattle, Wash., on Dec. 4, according to online records. His bail has been set at $2 million.

Shade and co-accused Kevin David Patterson (in photo at left), 20, were each charged in September with the murder of Richard Bergesen, 57, who was found dead in his Sammamish, Wash., home on Sept. 17.

Shade and Patterson are accused of using shovels to bludgeon Bergesen to death.

The pair then allegedly stole the victim’s credit cards and 2013 BMW 328 sedan and fled to Canada, driving under a barbed wire fence on a road north of Spokane.

The two were arrested later that day at a hotel in Abbotsford after U.S. authorities tracked the BMW from the vehicle’s GPS device.

They have been in custody ever since. Patterson, who has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, remains in B.C.

In addition to the murder charge, Shade and Patterson also face charges in the U.S. of robbery in the first degree and theft of a motor vehicle.

In Canada, they were both charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000.

With his move back to the U.S., that charge has been dropped against Shade, who apparently hails from Texas.

Patterson’s next court appearance for that offence is scheduled for Dec. 16 in Abbotsford provincial court.

U.S. authorities are still working on extraditing Patterson to the U.S.

Court documents indicate that Patterson was homeless at the time he met Bergesen, a manager at Boeing, through a church pastor.

Bergesen (in photo at left) offered Patterson a place to stay about a year ago and helped him take other positive steps in his life, according to the documents.

 



Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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