EVERETT — Double murder suspect Tony Clyde Reed could be returned to Snohomish County by the end of the week.
Reed, 49, is expected to make a court appearance Wednesday in San Diego, California, in connection with a $5 million fugitive warrant issued out of Snohomish County.
Reed made arrangements with the U.S. Marshal’s Office to surrender Monday.
“He was picked up at the border on the U.S. side,” sheriff’s office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
San Diego County Jail records show Reed was booked at 8:37 p.m. Monday.
His brother, John Reed, remains on the lam.
Both brothers are charged with two counts of first-degree murder and unlawful gun possession. They are the lone suspects in the disappearance and presumed deaths of John Reed’s former neighbors, Patrick Shunn and Monique Patenaude.
Once he’s returned to Washington, Tony Reed will be arraigned on the murder and gun charges. Sheriff’s detectives likely will bring him back to Snohomish County.
“If he waives extradition, he could be here by the end of the week,” Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson said Tuesday.
Reed could fight returning to Washington. If that happens, prosecutors will seek a governor’s warrant. In that case, they’ll have to prove that Reed is the same man facing charges in Snohomish County.
“There’s no indication that will be an issue,” Matheson said. “One could infer much from” his surrender.
Tony Reed already is represented by an Ellensburg lawyer, according to court records. His lawyer filed a notice of appearance with the court May 5. It was unclear Tuesday when the attorney was hired by Reed or if he assisted in making arrangements for his client’s surrender. Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives won’t get a chance to question Reed unless arrangements are made through the defense lawyer.
“Finding the victims are the priority,” Matheson said. “I’m hopeful he’ll talk.”
John and Tony Reed fled the state shortly after Shunn and Patenaude vanished in mid-April.
Detectives found blood in several locations, including John Reed’s pickup truck and on his former property.
Shunn was last seen at his workplace in Kirkland on April 11, a Monday. Patenaude also was last seen around 1 p.m. the same day near the couple’s home in the 27800 block of Whitman Road.
Neighbors reported them missing the next day.
On April 14, two vehicles belonging to Shunn and Patenaude were found in a remote, wooded area in the Oso area, north of their home. It appeared the vehicles had been pushed over a ledge and covered with branches.
That Sunday, Sheriff Ty Trenary announced that probable cause had been established for the arrest of the Reed brothers and a multi-state manhunt began that led across the Mexican border.
In an effort to catch up with the brothers, detectives obtained a court order to freeze the men’s bank accounts, along with those of their parents.
John Reed, 53, as well as Shunn and Patenaude lived along Whitman Road on the western edge of the Oso mudslide. Their properties were eligible for county buyouts related to the March 2014 disaster. Reed opted for a buyout. The missing couple declined.
There had been friction between the neighbors in the past. In the weeks before the couple disappeared, John Reed was told by sheriff’s deputies he could no longer live on his former property where he had been found squatting.
Patenaude had told a friend that she feared John Reed “as he had made threats to harm her and her husband, often acted ‘crazy’ and aggressive, was upset by the manner in which the aftermath of the Oso slide had been handled and was very angry about the condemnation of his property and being subsequently trespassed from it,” according to court papers.
Search and rescue crews returned to the Oso area over the weekend to look for Shunn and Patenaude, 45 and 46.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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