Everett man arrested in Las Vegas for 2019 shooting

By Sara Jean Green / The Seattle Times

More than a year after a 34-year-old man was fatally shot in the head on Aurora Avenue North, an Everett man — who was arrested in Nevada last week — was charged Monday with second-degree murder, according to King County prosecutors.

Caviyon McCalister, 20, who also goes by the street name “Dubb Brazy,” was identified as the suspect in the Aug. 22, 2019, killing of Lloyd Whitney, after Seattle police released still photos taken from video-surveillance footage to the media that November. Police received more than a dozen anonymous tips identifying McCalister as the man pictured, the charges say.

Following the early-morning shooting in the 10200 block of Aurora Avenue North, McCalister fled Washington and apparently relocated to several different states before his Oct. 11 arrest in the Las Vegas area, where he gave arresting officers a fake name and date of birth, according to charging papers. Seattle police homicide detectives were notified two days later that McCalister had been booked into the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas; the detectives traveled to Las Vegas that same day, but McCalister declined to speak with them, say the charges.

The circumstances of McCalister’s arrest weren’t clear Tuesday: The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department did not make the initial arrest, according to a spokesperson, and two other nearby agencies did not have information about his arrest.

McCalister is expected to be extradited back to Washington. King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Berliner requested that his bail be set at $2 million.

“In this case, it appears the defendant and his associates terrorized several women involved in prostitution while intoxicated, perhaps because he perceived them as vulnerable,” Berliner wrote in charging papers. “When the victim arrived, the defendant was almost immediately aggressive and threatening, yelling that he was going to shoot the victim and others while readying his weapon. He then unleashed multiple rounds at the victim before fleeing the scene.”

According to the charges:

Seattle police responded to a report of a shooting around 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 22, 2019, and found Whitney down on the ground on the west side of Aurora Avenue North. He died at the scene from a single gunshot to the head.

Police found a 9 mm handgun and a holster near Whitney’s body and four shell casings scattered on the sidewalk nearby. On the east side of Aurora, police located nine shell casings.

Numerous 911 callers said they heard a loud argument before the sounds of gunfire and a witness at the scene told police several drunk men had been chasing women around earlier in the evening. The charges note the shooting scene is located in a high sex-trafficking area, and several witnesses said they believed the women who were being harassed were involved in prostitution.

One witness who was walking north on Aurora heard a man on the east side of the street scream that he was going to shoot the victim and reference his apparent gang affiliation, according to the charges. The man was so aggressive the witness got scared and started running before hearing gunshots.

Police also obtained video-surveillance footage that showed the man on the east side pulling a pistol from the front of his pants as he walked north and continued yelling at Whitney across the street; he is then seen moving backward with his arm extended, and faint muzzle flashes can be seen in the footage, say the charges. Whitney’s actions couldn’t be seen because his position was blocked by a tree, but 10 seconds after the muzzle flashes, the man across the street from him is seen sprinting south.

During the investigation, police interviewed a woman who is described as an associate of Whitney’s. She said she and several other women were harassed by a group of men who attempted to steal their purses and at one point, knocked her down, according to the charges.

Less than 10 minutes before the shooting, Whitney arrived in the area and was told about the harassment. He told his associate it was time to go home, and as she walked to her car, Whitney screamed at her to run right before the woman heard gunshots behind her, say the charges.