EVERETT — A Snohomish County jury didn’t believe a Marysville man’s account of a fatal shooting last year outside a south Everett espresso stand.
Bud Fraser said shooting Collin Cross was an accident. Jurors on Wednesday called the killing premeditated. They convicted Fraser, 22, of first-degree murder with a firearm.
He faces a minimum of 25 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 30.
Cross’ family and friends expressed relief at the jury’s decision.
“I’m thankful the kid won’t be out on the street for the next 30 years,” said the victim’s father, Frank Cross.
But the verdict changes nothing, Cross said. His boy is gone, his granddaughter has lost her father, and Fraser ruined his life, he said.
“There’s nothing good about this. I will miss my boy, at least until I see him again,” Frank Cross said.
Prosecutors alleged that Cross, 21, was ambushed on Sept. 14, 2009, as he dropped his girlfriend off at her job at drive-up espresso stand. The woman previously had dated Fraser.
She told police that Fraser had been showing up at the stand in the week leading up to the shooting. Jurors were shown dozens of text messages Fraser sent the woman, including some in which he threatened to kill anyone she was dating. In at least one message he insisted that she choose between him and Cross.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Laura Twitchell told jurors that Fraser was obsessed with the woman and jealous that she was dating Cross.
Twitchell alleged on the day of the shooting Fraser was enraged. The woman hadn’t replied to the five dozen text messages he sent her and didn’t return any of his 10 phone calls from the day before.
He drove to the espresso stand, parked where she couldn’t see him and waited for 30 minutes. He saw Cross drop the woman off at the stand. Fraser grabbed an AK-47 rifle from the back of his car and then executed Cross, Twitchell said.
Fraser testified for several hours Friday. He admitted showing up at the coffee stand with the assault rifle and brandishing the weapon when he confronted Cross. He insisted the shooting was an accident.
Fraser showed no visible reaction to Wednesday’s verdict. Jurors had deliberated since Monday.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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