Everett triple shooting suspect tied to another homicide

EVERETT — A month before an Everett man is accused of killing two and shooting two others, he fatally shot a fifth man at a storage unit, police believe.

For months, the killing of Scott Pullen, 48, at an Everett storage facility has remained unsolved.

A judge has not found probable cause for the allegation, but a detective’s search warrant points to Shayne Baker, 26, as the suspect.

On the morning of May 3, Pullen and a friend arrived at Storehouse Mini Storage on Smith Avenue. The friend noticed there was a man he didn’t know sleeping in his Chevy Tahoe. He yelled at the man, who fled on foot. He then noticed another man sleeping in their friend’s Dodge Durango. The witness approached the driver’s side of the SUV and the second man stepped out, according to the search warrant obtained by The Daily Herald.

Pullen and his friend reportedly confronted the man.

The man then pulled out a gun, Pullen’s friend told police. The friend ran and hid behind his Tahoe. He heard a gunshot. Pullen, of Marysville, dropped to the ground.

The friend reported the man then pointed the weapon at him before driving away.

Security footage appeared to corroborate the friend’s reports to police, investigators found.

The Tahoe was later found in south Seattle and impounded, the Everett detective wrote in the warrant.

When police arrived, they reportedly found Pullen had been shot in the head. He died at the scene.

Police found the man who had fled from the Tahoe. He reported he had been at the scene with someone named “Shane Dahl.”

Detectives later learned the owner of the Durango and a friend, Anthony Jolly, had tried to solve Pullen’s killing on their own. Jolly claimed he’d identified the shooter, but wouldn’t tell police. An acquaintance of his told investigators the suspect was associated with a house on Lexington Avenue in south Everett.

On the morning of June 19, prosecutors allege, Baker shot a stranger near the intersection of 43rd Street SE and Colby Avenue. One of the bullets severed the man’s spine. At one point, the victim lost his pulse, but paramedics were able to revive him. In charging papers, prosecutors gave no motive for the shooting.

Baker is then accused of killing two and wounding another in a shooting the next day at a house in the 2000 block of Lexington Avenue. The deceased were identified as Anthony Jolly, 44, and Anthony Burnett, 48. Baker had been at the house in a blue pickup, but the men staying there were concerned it was stolen.When they confronted Baker about it, he pulled out a pistol and started shooting, a witness told investigators.

The suspect reportedly fled the scene. The next day, he was arrested on Broadway. He has remained in custody at the Snohomish County Jail with bail set at $5 million since his June 21 arrest.

Investigators began looking for prior links between Baker, Jolly and the owner of the Durango at the storage facility. They found police had arrested Baker for trespassing April 29. On the evening of May 2, he was released, about 12 hours before Pullen died, according to the search warrant.

Detectives reviewed police body camera footage from Baker’s trespassing arrest to see if he matched the suspect seen in surveillance footage from the time of Pullen’s killing.

“After reviewing the (footage) it was obvious to me Baker matched the suspect,” detective Corey Barrows wrote in the search warrant.

One item of clothing that stood out was Baker’s bright yellow shoelaces. They appear to be the same as those he wore on April 29 when he was arrested and May 3 when he allegedly shot Pullen.

On June 23, police again interviewed the man who had been sleeping in the Tahoe at the storage facility. He told investigators the man he’d previously identified as “Shane Dahl” may be “Shane Baker.” Given a montage of photos to look through, the man identified Baker as the person he was with on May 3.

“This places Baker at the scene where Pullen was murdered, as the other unidentified individual (Pullen’s friend) confronted,” Barrows wrote in the warrant.

Prosecutors have not charged Baker in Pullen’s death. He currently faces two counts each of second-degree murder and first-degree assault for the June 19 and June 20 incidents. At his arraignment in July, he said, “I don’t know why I’m charged with assaults and all that.”

The defendant has no felony history, according to court records. His next court hearing is set for next week.

An online fundraiser for Pullen’s family noted the Marysville man had two daughters and a grandson.

“Scott was a great father and friend,” the fundraiser reads. “He tried to make everyone around happy and help when he could.”

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.