Everett police seek help solving double homicide

Published 11:31 pm Monday, September 17, 2007

EVERETT — The search continues for whoever shot two people earlier this summer inside a south Everett house that was a cover for an elaborate marijuana growing operation.

Kevin Meas, 23, and Linda Nguyen, 20, each died from being shot in the head inside a house in the 600 block of Dexter Avenue.

No one has been arrested for the double homicide.

Police found about 800 marijuana plants inside the house. Another 400 plants were discovered in a nearby house in the 200 block of E. Beech Street, and people who lived there knew the victims.

Police have declined to say if there is any link between the homicides and drug operations.

“No one has provided us with a motive,” Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said. Investigators have gotten few answers from the people who reported the deaths, he said.

“It’s making it difficult for us to move forward in our investigation,” Goetz said.

Three people were arrested in connection with the marijuana growing operations, including the owners of the house on E. Beech Street and a man who lived there and said he was paid to tend the plants. The men face federal charges.

Investigators are seeing an increasing number of sophisticated indoor growing operations run by people with ties to Southeast Asia, according to Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force Sgt. Mark Richardson. The operations produce high-quality marijuana.

The two operations in Everett appeared to have been set up by the same people. At both sites, power meters had been bypassed to hide excessive power consumption.

Police also advise people to be on the lookout for possible marijuana growing operations in their neighborhood. The operations can be dangerous, including an increased potential for explosions and poisonous gases.

Here are some things to look for:

n Covered windows

n The smell of marijuana, which is best described as rotting cabbage or a skunk-like odor mixed with a sweet vegetative smell.

n Evidence that someone has tampered with the electric meter.

n Homes made to look lived in with furnishings, but very few people are seen coming in and out of the home.

n Sounds of electrical humming, fans or trickling water.

Police need your help

Everett police are asking anyone with information about the homicides of two people on Dexter Avenue on July 2 to call the police tip line at 425-257-8450.