Witnesses recount day of Everett shooting that killed 2, wounded 2

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 3, 2023

EVERETT — Carrie Jenks was upstairs in her room June 20, 2022, when she first heard the gunshots in the living room of her Lexington Avenue home.

Since it was the early evening on the Fourth of July, Jenks first thought it could be fireworks or gunfire, she said Tuesday in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Jenks ran down the stairs of the so-called “trap house,” bumping into her friend, Trenton Wood, who was holding the back of his head, she said. Wood told her a “guy” had shot him.

Jenks and Wood both testified in the second week of the second-degree murder trial of Shayne Baker.

Jenks recounted how she dialed 911 and passed the phone to her husband, Steven Ahrnkiel. Jenks found two bodies in the living room: one on the floor and one on the couch, according to her testimony. The two slain men were Anthony Jolly, known in the house as Happy, and Anthony Burnett, who went by Tony. The two had died of their gunshot wounds to the head.

“I looked into (Jolly’s) eyes and they were wide open,” Jenks said.

In her testimony, Jenks said she did not see the shooter, nor did she meet Baker.

Baker, 26, faces two counts of second-degree murder in the killings of Jolly, 44, and Burnett, 48, as well as three counts of first-degree assault for shooting Wood; shooting a fourth wounded man in the home; and shooting a fifth man, Zachary Monary, the day before on Colby Avenue.

Wood, the only survivor of the three shot in the living room, also took the witness stand Monday. Baker reportedly gave Wood — a stranger up until that point — a ride up the street earlier in the day to pick up tools at the home of Wood’s cousin. Because of this short interaction in a blue Chevy truck, Wood thought he could identify the shooter, according to his testimony.

Wood was reportedly doing yard work in the front of the house with Jenks’ husband. Wood went inside to grab the keys to Baker’s truck because Jolly thought the pickup might be stolen and they didn’t want it on the property, according to his testimony. Wood testified he was only inside the house with Jolly, Burnett and Baker for about 2 to 3 minutes before Baker reportedly pulled out a pistol and started shooting.

“I don’t know why I survived, I don’t want to be here (in court),” Wood said on the stand.

Wood told jurors he was only testifying in honor of Jolly and Burnett.

In the days following the shooting, Wood told police the person who gave him a ride introduced himself as “Shayne,” according to court documents. But when investigators showed a photo montage that included a picture of the defendant, Wood wrote “not here” on the sheet.

On Monday, Wood said he asked investigators if he could identify the shooter in an in-person line up, but police reportedly denied his request.

The witness had difficulty recalling his encounters with police while on the stand. He clarified he did not trust law enforcement and, in interviews about the case, he would say whatever he could to get them away from the cops.

“I’m saying I was shot in the head,” Wood said on the stand. “Nobody really cares about that part. Would you guys be happier if I fell over like the other guys?”

In the courtroom, Wood identified Baker as the person who shot him.

Police later connected Baker to shooting Monary, basically at random, a day earlier at the intersection of 43rd Street SE and Colby Avenue. According to police, Baker opened fire from a blue Chevy pickup, then drove off. Monary had no pulse at one point but paramedics revived him.

State’s witnesses were still being called this week from a list of 84 people who could testify.

Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.