EVERETT — A Lynnwood man was charged last week for a September shooting in Everett that left a man he accused of stealing from him permanently paralyzed.
On the morning of Sept. 29, a man was hanging out at Airport Road and Evergreen Way when a man he knew as “Bush” approached, according to the charges filed in Snohomish County Superior Court. “Bush” asked if he’d be interested in washing his Cadillac in exchange for pills laced with fentanyl. The man agreed and got in the car.
They reportedly went to a car wash and made a few other stops. “Bush,” later identified as 44-year-old Antonial Monroe, drove with the man to Lynnwood Municipal Court for a hearing, the charges say. While Monroe was inside, the man was supposed to finish cleaning the car.
Instead, the man allegedly stole a bag with hundreds of fentanyl pills, a handgun and a winning lottery ticket.
The man took a bus to a friend’s apartment on Casino Road, according to court papers. He fell asleep, but the friend woke him up.
“They’re here,” she reportedly said, referring to Monroe and his girlfriend.
The man tried to leave the apartment, but Monroe confronted him with a gun. The Lynnwood man ordered him into the Cadillac. While the girlfriend drove, Monroe tried to pistol-whip the man, according to the charging papers.
Eventually, Monroe told his girlfriend to pull the car over. The man tried to flee.
Monroe shot him in the back, the charges allege. That shot hit the man’s spine, paralyzing his legs. He fell into the road, where Monroe is accused of shooting him four more times in the leg and buttocks.
Monroe and his girlfriend reportedly drove away.
Passing drivers found the wounded man lying in the road. He was taken to the hospital, where he remained last week, deputy prosecutor Matt Hunter wrote in the charges. He is permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
Police were able to piece together their suspect’s identity, according to the charging papers. Detectives found Monroe uses the name “Bush” on his voicemail greeting. He also owns a Cadillac and had a court hearing in Lynnwood the day the wounded man described. Shown a photo, however, the man could only say he was 75% sure the person in the photo was the shooter.
On Oct. 12, a couple of weeks after the shooting, officers arrested Monroe for a stolen license plate on the Cadillac. He was released from jail the next day. Inside the car, officers found a stolen Glock handgun and a bag similar to the one that held the fentanyl pills, according to court papers.
Weeks later, on Nov. 3, officers again arrested Monroe, this time for the alleged shooting. He tried to flee and threatened to kill officers, but police tased him.
Last week, Snohomish County prosecutors charged Monroe with first-degree assault with a gun, unlawful firearm possession, third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer and threats to kill, all of which are felonies.
The suspect has an extensive criminal history, court records show. As an adult, he has about a dozen felony convictions in Snohomish, King and Lewis counties dating back to 1995, including for arson and assault. He was released from prison in July of last year after a 2012 conviction for promoting prostitution.
Hunter also noted Monroe had over 40 outstanding warrants for his arrest in Washington, including 14 this year.
On Tuesday, the Lynnwood man remained in the Snohomish County Jail.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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