Seattle Area Hero Gives Life For His Family

Whatever degree of courage we may have been blessed with, we all hope that if the need arose to protect our families we would rise to the occasion. Few of us are actually called upon to demonstrate such courage. James Sanders was one of those, and he acquitted himself as honorably as any of us could hope for.

James Sanders lived in the Pierce County community of Edgewood, Washington, with his wife and two sons, aged fourteen and ten. On April 28 he was fatally shot while defending his family from a group of thugs who had forced their way into his home in a robbery. Two of the four, a man and a woman, had arrived at his doorstep under the pretext of purchasing a diamond ring that Mr. Sanders and his wife had advertised on Craigslist. Upon being shown the ring, the man pulled a gun and forced his way in, the couple being joined by two other robbers who had been hiding nearby. Upon entering the home, they tied up Mr. Sanders and his wife, pulled the two boys from their beds and dragged them downstairs.

"I had a gun to the back of my head with a countdown - three, two - and I'm just screaming and my kids are standing there, and I'm saying, please, God, don't let them kill me, don't let them kill my kids," she said.

After working on the wife, the man moved on to striking the fourteen year old. Mr. Sanders managed to free himself and struck the attacker, only to be gunned down. James Sanders died in his wife's arms.

"I just kept saying 'honey please stay with me, stay with me, stay with us, don't go, don't go,' and he was just barely gasping for air," she said. "They took the love of my live."

The robbers fled after shooting Mr. Sanders. All four have subsequently been caught. Three of the suspects Kiyoshi A. Higashi, 22, and Joshua N. Reese, 20, both of Tacoma, along with Amanda C. Knight, 21, of Sumner, were arrested on May 1 during a traffic stop in California. The fourth suspect, Clabon Berniard, 23, turned himself in to authorities on Thursday after being sought on a nationwide arrest warrant.

Mrs. Sanders said her 14-year-old son is recovering from his injuries and both he and his 10-year-old brother miss their father.

All four suspects are charged with first-degree murder, robbery and assault.

I have been meaning to write a post for Mr. Sanders for some time. I am very glad to do so now. I am very greatly honored to mention the name James Sanders on this blog.

God rest his soul.