EVERETT — Prosecutors charged an Everett man with murder Friday for allegedly hitting and killing a man on purpose last month on Highway 99.
Tod Archibald faces second-degree murder and hit-and-run fatality charges in connection with the death of Glenn Starks last month.
On Tuesday, Archibald, 50, remained in custody at the Snohomish County Jail with bail set at $1 million.
He is set to be arraigned Wednesday.
A few weeks before his death, Starks, also 50, and Archibald had gotten in to an argument over a limousine at Reborn RV in the 12800 block of Highway 99, according to the charges filed Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Starks spit in Archibald’s face and punched him lightly, one witness reported. Archibald didn’t retaliate, but told Starks he’d be arrested. Police didn’t appear to have been called for that incident, deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow wrote in the charging papers.
Later, Archibald reportedly claimed the punch from Starks knocked out his teeth.
In the days that followed, he told a neighbor about wanting to kill Starks, the charges say. He laid out different ways he’d do it. With a sword. By fire.
On Dec. 2, the threats so alarmed the neighbor that he told Starks about them. Starks told the neighbor he wasn’t afraid of Archibald. He didn’t seem to take the threats seriously, according to court papers.
The next morning, Starks was scheduled to be the first to arrive for work at Kirkland RV Sales at 13111 Highway 99. Snow had accumulated along the shoulder of the highway. Starks went to shovel it, according to court documents.
Surveillance footage reportedly shows a Pontiac G6 driving south on Highway 99. When it passes the RV lot, the brake lights come on. It makes a U-turn to come back toward Kirkland RV Sales.
As the Pontiac, driven by Archibald, approached Starks, who was still shoveling snow, the car abruptly veered right toward him, according to the charges. Starks could then be seen “cartwheeling in the air” above the RVs parked at the bottom of an embankment, the prosecutor wrote.
The Pontiac continued down the embankment before stopping on the shoulder. The driver got out and trotted down Manor Way before disappearing from the sight of the security cameras, according to court papers.
Later that morning, another employee found Starks underneath the front end of an RV. He died at the scene, according to police.
On Dec. 8, police arrested Archibald at his apartment.
In a police interview, Archibald acknowledged he was driving the Pontiac at the time of the crash, according to the charges. He reported he was driving from one apartment building to another when he spotted Starks shoveling snow. He noted he made a U-turn, but only planned to talk to him about their confrontation. He claimed he wanted to apologize.
But as he pulled over, “the snow took me,” Archibald told detectives. He lost control of the Pontiac, snow flew over the hood and he reported hearing a thud.
The suspect told investigators he knew he’d hit Starks. He figured Starks was paralyzed. Archibald reported not remembering making threats to kill Starks, but said he often exaggerates.
There was “no way” he’d intentionally kill Starks, who he referred to in the police interview as a friend and a “good guy.” Archibald reportedly said he wouldn’t kill with his car. It would be with his hands.
And he told detectives he left the scene because he was “out of his mind.” He knew Starks would get help and he hid for a few days, Archibald reported.
The suspect has no felony history, court records show. He has several misdemeanor violations, including for driving under the influence in the 1990s in Oregon and fourth-degree assault in 2009 in Snohomish County.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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