Suspect pleads not guilty in shooting death

EVERETT — A Marysville man pleaded not guilty Friday to allegations that he spent much of a June night driving around Snohomish County, firing handguns at cars, houses filled with sleeping people and a group of teenage girls walking along a road in Lake Stevens.

Molly Conley, 15, of Seattle, was fatally shot in what Snohomish County prosecutors believe was the start of a violent spree they allege has been linked by forensic evidence to Erick N. Walker.

On Thursday, they charged Walker, 27, with first-degree murder in the girl’s June 1 death. He also faces four counts of drive-by shooting for bullets fired into homes in Marysville and Lake Stevens before daybreak June 2.

Walker, a Boeing employee with no criminal history, was arraigned on the charges during a brief hearing Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Appearing via video link to the county jail, he pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The defendant “exhibited extreme indifference to human life” when he shot from a passing car at Molly and her girlfriends as they walked along a road, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Ed Stemler said in court papers.

Molly was struck in the neck. She died at the scene. The bullet that hit her has not been found.

Investigators believe her killing is connected to other drive-by shootings in Lake Stevens and Marysville in the hours afterward. Tests on five bullets recovered from those shootings have been matched to two .30-caliber handguns that were seized from Walker’s house, according to court papers.

Walker denied involvement when he was arrested June 28, although he acknowledged driving in Lake Stevens the night Molly was shot. One of the homes hit by gunfire is just blocks from his house, documents show.

Walker became a suspect in Molly’s killing after detectives determined he owned the same type of weapon forensic tests suggested was used in the drive-bys. Damage on his black Pontiac G6 coupe also reportedly was consistent it with having struck a car at one of the shooting scenes.

The investigation continues. Detectives obtained search warrants for cellphone data that they hope to use to track Walker’s movements the night of the shootings.

Walker is represented by Mark Mestel, a longtime defense attorney from Everett. In court Friday he asked Stemler for access to police reports and other investigative materials.

Stemler said the case file already is more than 2,000 pages. He made arrangements to provide it to Mestel.

The defense attorney reserved argument Friday about the $5 million bail set shortly after Walker’s arrest. He told Judge Janice Ellis he wants to examine the case file first.

She scheduled trial for Sept. 13.

Molly was a freshman at Seattle’s Bishop Blanchet High School and nicknamed “4.0” because of her good grades. Her family and friends attended Friday’s hearing, some wearing stickers bearing her name. They declined to speak with reporters.

Scott North: 425-339-3431, north@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.