'Countless times, I sat where he sat that night'
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- A light-blue 1980 Datsun 210.
It was the most wanted car in Western Washington, caught on a patrol car dash cam in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood on Halloween night.
Just 20 minutes later, investigators say Christopher Monfort, the alleged driver of the Datsun, pulled up next to a parked patrol car and opened fire at the the two Seattle police officers sitting inside, killing Officer Tim Brenton and wounding rookie Officer Brit Sweeney.
Western Washington University student Carey Rose knew that Datsun, inside and out.
"It was just right there in front of me," he said. "It took my brain a second to catch up."
Rose says he sold the car for $900 to the alleged cop killer, Monfort.
"I'm like 99 percent sure I sold my car to this guy. When I saw that photo, then it was 100 percent," said Rose.
The license plate hanging on the car in police possession is the same plate Rose put on it, then sold the car to Monfort with a year and a half ago.
"It's weird to think that I ... countless times, I sat where he sat that night," said Rose.
The hatchback Rose spent hours fixing up back in high school became a vehicle for murder, according to police. The connection makes Rose shudder.
"Disbelief, more than anything else," he said. "Now it's something...evil. It's a tool."
Rose didn't know police were looking for the Datsun until they found it. He can't help but wonder why someone would choose a car of such rare make and model for such a sinister mission.
"Who's to say what would have happened if he hadn't bought my car, if he had bought a Honda Civic or something like that? You see a Honda Civic and some of these in-car police cams and what do you do with that? So what? There are thousands of those," he said.
Christopher Monfort was shot by police and taken into custody at his apartment in Tukwila. The confrontation with police left him paralyzed from the waist down. Monfort faces a number of charges in connection to the case.
It was the most wanted car in Western Washington, caught on a patrol car dash cam in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood on Halloween night.
Just 20 minutes later, investigators say Christopher Monfort, the alleged driver of the Datsun, pulled up next to a parked patrol car and opened fire at the the two Seattle police officers sitting inside, killing Officer Tim Brenton and wounding rookie Officer Brit Sweeney.
Western Washington University student Carey Rose knew that Datsun, inside and out.
"It was just right there in front of me," he said. "It took my brain a second to catch up."
Rose says he sold the car for $900 to the alleged cop killer, Monfort.
"I'm like 99 percent sure I sold my car to this guy. When I saw that photo, then it was 100 percent," said Rose.
The license plate hanging on the car in police possession is the same plate Rose put on it, then sold the car to Monfort with a year and a half ago.
"It's weird to think that I ... countless times, I sat where he sat that night," said Rose.
The hatchback Rose spent hours fixing up back in high school became a vehicle for murder, according to police. The connection makes Rose shudder.
"Disbelief, more than anything else," he said. "Now it's something...evil. It's a tool."
Rose didn't know police were looking for the Datsun until they found it. He can't help but wonder why someone would choose a car of such rare make and model for such a sinister mission.
"Who's to say what would have happened if he hadn't bought my car, if he had bought a Honda Civic or something like that? You see a Honda Civic and some of these in-car police cams and what do you do with that? So what? There are thousands of those," he said.
Christopher Monfort was shot by police and taken into custody at his apartment in Tukwila. The confrontation with police left him paralyzed from the waist down. Monfort faces a number of charges in connection to the case.
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