After fight over $5, man was shot multiple times in Everett

Published 1:30 am Sunday, March 31, 2019

EVERETT — It was a fight over $5 in an Everett parking lot.

One of the men figured it wasn’t worth a scuffle, and walked off to his car. That’s when he was shot three times Dec. 14, 2017.

New charging papers identify the suspect, 28, who is at large with a $100,000 warrant out for his arrest.

The wounded man told police he was upset that day, because he felt it wasn’t fair he was the only one in his carpool who reliably paid the $5 gas fee.

He argued with the carpool driver outside Command Center, a small temporary labor office in the 6300 block of Evergreen Way. The men shouted and shoved each other.

Security footage confirmed one man left the fight and walked across the street with his girlfriend. The other man got into a black Hyundai Elantra, turned onto Evergreen Way and slowly drove by with the driver’s side window down, according to the charges.

The car stopped for a moment.

Security cameras showed the victim trying to dodge gunfire. Bullets hit his arm, ankle and buttocks. He had fractures to his vertebrae and tibia, as well as other serious injuries to his organs.

Rounds struck a nearby Value Village.

No one else was hurt.

The car sped off. Right away, witnesses reported it looked like a black Hyundai. Different people caught parts of the license plate. Pieced together, it matched the carpool driver’s vehicle, charging papers say.

In late 2017, the suspect lived in Everett.

Police confirmed he owned at least three guns. One was a 9 mm Luger pistol, a potential match to evidence at the scene.

Two months later, the suspect called police saying he was worried his gun may have been used in a crime. Later in another call with detectives, he reportedly denied knowing the other man and denied giving him rides. He told police someone else might have opened fire. He confirmed that he used to drive people to work and charge them $5 for gas.

He told police he’d moved to California in December 2017.

Snohomish County prosecutors charged him this month with first-degree assault.

Letters were sent to the man’s old local addresses telling him to show up to court Thursday for his arraignment. He did not appear, and a Superior Court judge signed a warrant for his arrest.

Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.