Deputies shoot, kill Verlot man armed with gun
Published 10:02 pm Friday, May 29, 2009
VERLOT — An argument over weed control Friday afternoon apparently led to a violent confrontation with Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies that left a Verlot man dead.
The trouble reportedly began when a man in his 40s got angry with a Snohomish County road crew that was spraying for noxious weeds along the Mountain Loop Highway, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.
About 4:45 p.m., the road crew called for sheriff’s deputies, he said.
A veteran deputy and his reserve deputy responded to the home about 2 miles west of Verlot. The man approached them armed with a handgun.
“There was a confrontation and the male at the residence was killed,” Goetz said.
Multiple shots were fired in the man’s yard.
The man has not been identified. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner is expected to conduct an autopsy.
The shooting is being handled by the Snohomish County Multi-Agency Response Team or SMART, a special group of homicide detectives trained to investigate deaths involving police.
Detectives closed the busy Mountain Loop Highway for about three hours Friday while they
collected evidence. They plan to interview the deputy, the reserve deputy, the road crew’s members and neighbors, Goetz said.
The investigation likely will take weeks. Snohomish County prosecutors will determine if the killing was justified.
It’s unclear who fired and how many shots rang out, Goetz said.
The deputy, a man in his 40s who has 20 years experience, has been placed on paid leave, which is standard procedure.
The reserve deputy, also in his 40s with 25 years experience, will be kept off the road during the investigation.
On Friday, Betty Cook, 87, was just waking from a nap when she heard three shots.
She was upset and couldn’t believe that her neighbor was gone.
“He was a really nice neighbor; he helped us out a lot. He was real friendly,” she said.
A long line of traffic backed up waiting to drive up the Mountain Loop Highway to enjoy the summerlike weather in the shadow of Mount Pilchuck.
Randy Cowart waited three hours for the traffic to clear. He was bringing food and supplies to construction crews working to rebuild the bridge to the Big Four Ice Caves.
“You would think that a dispute over spring weeds wouldn’t lead to a fatality,” he said.
The SMART team last was summoned after the Nov. 8 shooting that killed Dustin Willard in Everett. That investigation continues.
It’s the same team that responded to Skagit County in September after a man there went on a shooting rampage that killed six people including Skagit County sheriff’s deputy Ann Jackson.
