LAKE STEVENS — The man who was shot and killed in Lake Stevens while play-fighting on New Year’s Eve has been identified.
Neil Forestier, 27, of Arlington, had gone out late Saturday to the Creekside Alehouse & Grill in Lake Stevens, with a woman he’d been dating. Joshua Kelly, 22, an acquaintance, met them there, according to a police report filed in Everett District Court. When the alehouse closed at 2 a.m. Sunday, the three went back to the woman’s apartment in the 1700 block of 16th Street NE.
Around 3:30 a.m., the two men began “playfully” fighting, having a conversation where they agreed to use “10%” strength, the report read. Before the fight, Kelly reportedly placed a handgun on the kitchen table.
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At one point, Forestier punched Kelly in the stomach, much harder than Kelly anticipated. Forestier, who had moved to Washington from Auburn, Illinois, was an amateur mixed martial arts fighter, with his last fight recorded in 2018, according to the database Tapology.
The punch knocked the wind out of Kelly, he reported. When the woman left the room, Kelly reportedly picked up the gun, removed it from its holster and aimed it. He later claimed he merely meant to shine the gun’s attached flashlight on the man. The gun went off.
Kelly provided medical aid, but about 15 minutes later, Forestier was pronounced dead at the scene.
Forestier died from a single gunshot wound, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Wednesday. The manner of death was classified as homicide.
Lake Stevens police arrested Kelly for investigation of second-degree murder. During an interview with detectives, Kelly denied wanting to hurt the man, but only wanted to scare him. He also changed parts of his story when confronted, according to police. He reportedly told an officer he should not own a gun because he figured he would get “trigger happy.”
Kelly remained in the Snohomish County Jail this week with bail set at $250,000.
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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