Parents of shooting victim sue suspect
Suit alleges fraudulent property transfer
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
The parents of one of the two victims in a
March 29 Bellevue shooting are suing for damages and contending that the suspect
fraudulently transferred property to his mother following the incident.
The civil suit was filed in 5th District
Court in Hailey on April 29 by Gary B. Peak and Judith A. Peak, the parents of
Tyrel H. Peak, 15, who was shot in the buttocks behind the Silver Dollar Saloon.
The other victim, John Marshall Hooten, 19, was shot in the chest and was in
critical condition for several weeks. Last week, however, he was conscious and
improving in health, said Judith Peak.
The alleged shooter, David L. Santistevan,
46, was a Bellevue resident and familiar local musician. Charged with two counts
of attempted murder, he is in custody in the Blaine County Jail in lieu of a $1
million bond.
The Peak’s lawsuit, filed by Hailey
Attorney Doug Werth, names Santistevan and his mother, Mary Lue Ross, who lives
in Canyon County.
The suit contends that Tyrel Peak was
"permanently and severely damaged" and has "disability, disfigurement and pain
and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life" because of injuries he incurred in
the shooting.
The amount of money sought by the lawsuit
is to be proven at trial.
The suit also seeks to stall the transfer
of property worth "more than $250,000" from Santistevan to his mother.
The suit claims that Santistevan signed a
quitclaim deed on April 2, 2004, "purporting to convey in its entirety the real
property to Ross." The transfer was recorded by Blaine County on April 6.
In the lawsuit, Werth contends the
transfer was made "to hinder, delay or defraud plaintiffs as creditors (the
Peaks) of the debtor (Santistevan)."
Peak identified Santistevan as the alleged
shooter at a preliminary hearing April 13. Police affidavits state two shell
casings found at the scene match a third casing found on Santistevan’s car.
Authorities also said they recovered a semi-automatic handgun allegedly
belonging to Santistevan near the railroad right-of-way east of Gannett Road in
Bellevue. A ballistics review of the gun, casings and bullets is pending in
Coeur d’Alene.
Editor's note: Mary Lue Ross was dropped as a defendant in 2005. The suit was dismissed due to inactivity in 2008.