EVERETT — A Lake Goodwin man who was shot in the hand by deputies Thursday allegedly was drunk, heavily armed, wearing body armor and ominously predicted to his girlfriend that things were “going to go bad” if police arrived.
Moments later, detectives believe he fired a gun at the woman’s feet.
The man was identified in court documents as Gene Fagerlie, 36.
Before his arrest on Thursday morning, Fagerlie already was wanted on a warrant stemming from a recent child molestation charge.
His girlfriend called 911 shortly before 4 a.m. to report that he had a loaded gun and was suicidal, according to a search warrant for the motor home where he was living in the 4500 block of Lake Goodwin Road.
As is standard in cases involving use of force, a special countywide team of detectives was brought in to investigate.
The search warrant describes a perilous and potentially deadly scenario of deputies arriving at the home and encountering Fagerlie, who was carrying a handgun and appeared also to be armed with a rifle and a shotgun.
“The deputies faced an extremely intense and stressful situation and they were forced to react,” said Everett police officer Aaron Snell, a spokesman for the Snohomish Multiple Agency Response Team. As is standard in cases involving police use of force, the special countywide team of detectives was brought in to investigate.
The suspect’s girlfriend described a terrifying encounter in which he called her over to his home to pick up their 2-year-old daughter.
She entered the mobile home through a side door, where she found her daughter and noticed the gun safe open with weapons and ammunition strewn about. There also were empty liquor bottles in the bathroom.
She took her daughter outside. Then she noticed the green dot of a laser gun sight on her shoulder.
After a brief conversation, Fagerlie reportedly told the woman to leave and fired his weapon in her direction, the search warrant said. A bullet struck the ground about five feet away.
Fagerlie sent text messages after she left. At 5:02 a.m., he told her that there would be a fire fight.
A relative of Fagerlie went to the home to try to calm him down.
He admitted firing a couple of shots and expected the police to respond, court papers said.
The relative told officers that Fagerlie was armed with a pistol, a rifle, knives and some sort of automatic gun. She also could feel that the man was wearing body armor when she hugged him.
“Her impression was that he wanted to commit suicide with the assistance of police,” the search warrant said.
Fagerlie told the relative to leave, but she refused.
At one point, he allegedly told her that he was going to find the police.
The woman, who was about seven feet behind Fagerlie, then heard someone yell, “Police, drop the gun, put your hands up!”
Fagerlie turned toward the voices and raised his hand up with the gun, the search warrant said.
The relative said she then heard seven to eight gunshots.
The suspect was wounded by a bullet that hit his hand. The warrant says that body armor was seized as part of the investigation.
When Fagerlie was taken into custody, deputies found a cocked pistol, a pump-action shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle with a scope on the ground.
Deputies also found ammunition hidden nearby.
Fagerlie was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. On Friday, he had not been booked into the county jail in Everett.
The search warrant says that he’s being investigated for potential second-degree assault, a felony.
The deputy who shot at Fagerlie was placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard practice in officer-involved shootings. He has been with the sheriff’s department for seven years.
Fagerlie had a warrant for his arrest issued Aug. 1. He’d failed to show up for an arraignment after being charged with first-degree child molestation on July 12.
In that case, prosecutors allege that he sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl. He reportedly also took sexual pictures of the child while she was sleeping.
He was ordered not to be around children while the case was pending.
He has no felony convictions as an adult. He has misdemeanor convictions in Snohomish County starting in the early 1990s and including a 2012 conviction for drunken driving.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
