Trial of school shooter’s father focuses on protection order

SEATTLE — A Tulalip woman on Tuesday testified that, in 2002, she urged her tribal police officer husband to serve a protection order against Raymond Fryberg as soon as possible.

The protection order was for the woman’s sister.

Her late husband, Jesus Echevarria, left home with the documents and came back with the return of service, said the woman, Heather Gobin, 39. The two families lived in the same neighborhood.

A Tulalip tribal court judge also testified Tuesday that he saw the return of service — proof that someone has been served – and could not have taken any action in the 2002 proceedings involving Raymond Fryberg without that paperwork.

Fryberg’s lawyers maintain that he was never served with the protection order and therefore had no way of knowing that he was prohibited from owning firearms.

His trial in U.S. District Court in Seattle this week is focused on whether Fryberg illegally possessed firearms at his home on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. The jury won’t be told that Fryberg’s son, 15-year-old Jaylen, last fall used one of the guns to shoot five of his friends, killing four, before taking his own life in a cafeteria at Marysville Pilchuck High School.

The Frybergs gave police permission to search Jaylen’s room hours after the shootings.

Investigators returned days later with a judge’s permission for a more thorough search. About 200 photos were taken during that search, and some of the images show guns stored throughout the home, including at the foot of the defendant’s bed, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Miyake said in his opening statements Tuesday morning.

Fryberg’s lawyer, John Henry Browne, promptly asked for a mistrial. He said even describing the guns would prejudice the jury. He also renewed his request that the trial be moved out of the area because of publicity about the high school shooting.

“I still think we are in a situation where the tragedy at the high school has infected, more or less, this trial,” he said.

Judge James Robart denied both requests, saying the move for a mistrial was “not a sensible argument.” It is clear in the pictures that guns were unsecured, some leaning up against the walls, Robart said. Because the case is about the possession of firearms, the weapons are “clearly relevant,” the judge said.

Fryberg acquired 10 firearms in the years after the protection order, Miyake said. The tribal protection order was never entered into a state database. That meant Fryberg was able to continue to purchase guns and obtain a concealed pistol license despite undergoing background checks.

“The defendant slipped under the screen,” Miyake said.

When police searched the home last year, Fryberg reportedly told an FBI agent that he had been served with the protection order in 2002, but didn’t pay attention to the questions in his background checks to get guns, Miyake said.

The defense maintains Fryberg never was served. Moreover, the background checks and gun purchases — more than a dozen interactions with authorities in all, including tribal hunting trips where his name was checked by game wardens — led Fryberg to believe he was allowed to keep guns, Browne said.

After her sister filed for the protection order, Heather Gobin kept an eye out for Fryberg so he could be served, she said.

She told her husband, the police officer, “It was the most important thing we had to do,” she said.

On Tuesday, she said she recognized her husband’s handwriting on the form that was filed in tribal court. The document said Fryberg had been served.

Fryberg faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on all six counts of illegal possession. He is expected to testify.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@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.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

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.