Accomplice accepts plea deal in murder of Arlington man

Published 1:30 am Friday, June 19, 2026

EVERETT — A Lynnwood man accepted a plea deal for his role in a 2023 shooting that left an Arlington man dead.

Dillon Thomas, 32, pleaded guilty to amended charges of second-degree murder while on community custody and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm while on community custody during a hearing in Snohomish County Superior Court on Thursday afternoon.

Thomas was one of two suspects accused of shooting 33-year-old Austin Hoerner inside a motorhome he lived in off 116th Street NE in Arlington on Feb. 7, 2023, court records said. Hoerner died four days later.

David Koeppen, a second man charged in the shooting, died while in custody at the Snohomish County Jail in October 2023, The Daily Herald previously reported.

Investigators said the two men broke into the victim’s motorhome while he slept inside with his wife, according to court records. Koeppen then allegedly shot the man as he sat on the edge of the bed, charging documents said.

Cell phone data and video evidence linked the two men to the crime, court records said.

They were allegedly in the area of the Hoerner residence for more than two-and-a-half hours before the shooting, according to court documents. The suspects were also seen on video leaving and returning to Koeppen’s Everett apartment before and after the shooting occurred.

In his guilty plea, Thomas admitted to being an accomplice in the deadly shooting.

He has 10 previous felony convictions, including three for assault, court records said.

Thomas faces up to life in prison for the second-degree murder charge with a standard sentencing range between 24 and 33 years, according to the judge. His unlawful possession of a firearm guilty plea includes a maximum 10-year sentence with a standard range between seven and nine-and-a-half years.

Thomas is set to be sentenced on Aug 4. 2026.

Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3097; ian.davis-leonard@heraldnet.com