EVERETT — A convicted felon was ordered jailed on $1 million bail Monday after detectives said they found a stolen .45-caliber handgun that was believed used in a killing hidden under his mattress.
That wasn’t enough probable cause to hold Edward J. Lamourie, 40, in connection wit
h the fatal shooting Sunday, Everett District Court Judge Tam Bui ruled. But she found ample grounds to detain him on weapons charges and set a high bail.
Lamourie has prior convictions for assault and property crimes. Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives say on Sunday morning he knocked on the door of a nearby apartment unit where relatives lived. He allegedly told them “a man was murdered in my apartment,” according to court records.
The shooting occurred at a home in the 12000 block of Meridian Avenue S. Sheriff’s deputies were called around 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
The 31-year-old victim, whose name has not been released, was shot in the head by someone using a handgun. He died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Investigators learned Lamourie tried to hide a magazine for the .45 at his relative’s apartment, along with a shotgun that had its barrel illegally shortened to less than a foot, court papers said.
Lamourie was arrested and booked into the Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, possession of a stolen firearm and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Deputy prosecutor Laura Twitchell said there were compelling reasons for high bail.
“Obviously, it was a dangerous situation, it was a stolen (firearm) and someone got killed in his apartment,” she said after Monday’s hearing.
Witnesses told detectives Lamourie brought something concealed by a green shirt into the relatives’ apartment.
Detectives said they found the sawed-off shotgun and a handgun magazine in a storage tub at that apartment.
They also found a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun between the mattress and box springs in the suspect’s bedroom, according to police reports. The handgun was reported stolen in Federal Way in May.
Detectives on Monday were continuing to piece together what led to the fatal shooting, sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
Deputies talked to three men and one woman who were in the apartment with the victim when the shooting happened.
“The people in the apartment said they had been smoking meth and marijuana prior to the shooting,” Hover said.
The suspect and others in the apartment also had bites from a pit bull that was in the unit during the shooting, Hover said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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