EVERETT — Prosecutors on Thursday charged an Everett man with second-degree murder in connection with a suspected gang-related shooting in south Everett.
Herbert Jacques Reynolds Jr., 19, is accused of gunning down Dennis Riojas, 19, on Aug. 5, 2006.
The shooting was the result of “friction between two groups of young men,” Snohomish County deputy prosecutor John Stansell wrote in charging papers. Two men who belonged to Riojas’ group had been involved in a fight and were later assaulted by about 30 young men, he wrote.
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives have called the homicide gang-related. Witnesses said Reynolds and two other teens he was with when Riojas was killed had claimed to be in a gang, according to a police affidavit. One of those teens was arrested for investigation of drive-by shooting. Detectives believe that teen fired at Riojas and another man a few hours before the fatal shooting.
Witnesses told detectives that Reynolds and Riojas argued over the phone and made plans to fight. They later encountered each other near an apartment complex. Witnesses reported hearing a gunshot a short time later, Stansell wrote.
Riojas later was found lying face down in a flower bed across the street from the apartment he shared with his family. He had been shot in the back.
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives questioned Reynolds about the homicide a couple of weeks after it happened. He denied being involved, court records show.
Reynolds has been in jail since last month. He was arrested on a warrant for failing to report to the state Department of Corrections. He was under state supervision for a 2006 conviction for fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation.
He is being held in the Snohomish County Jail on $500,000 bail.
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