Man charged with first-degree murder in Marysville, Lynnwood shootings

LYNNWOOD — Prosecutors on Friday charged the suspect in a pair of shootings last month that left two dead and two injured in Marysville and Lynnwood with nine felonies.

Gilbert “Alex” Escamilla faces two counts each of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, one count of first-degree burglary, two counts of unlawful firearm possession, one count of motor vehicle theft and one count of attempting to elude police.

Escamilla, 31, was arrested Aug. 10 after he was accused of breaking into a seemingly random Lynnwood-area home and shooting three people, killing one. Police believe he had just fled the scene of another deadly shooting 25 miles north in Marysville, where he “executed” a man hours before outside an apartment complex, according to police reports filed last month.

The charging papers filed Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court reveal harrowing new details of the shootings.

Around 4 a.m., security footage showed a man in the parking lot of Twin Lakes Landing, in the 2800 block of 164th Street NE, walk past Escamilla’s white Hyundai with a yellow hood. Escamilla, in a light gray hoodie and dark pants, got out and confronted the man, according to the new charges. Seconds later, the gunman walked up to him, reportedly pointing a pistol at the man’s head and pulled the trigger. Escamilla fled in the Hyundai, apparently bound for the Lynnwood area.

There appeared to be no argument preceding the fatal shooting, the charges say.

The Marysville man, later identified as Ryan Ezzy, died at the scene, according to police. He was 35.

An online fundraiser set up by childhood friends has raised over $4,000 to cover Ezzy’s funeral expenses.

“Ryan had a heart of gold and anybody that truly knew him would say the same,” the fundraiser reads.

About an hour after the Marysville shooting, home security footage shows Escamilla standing in the woods behind a home in the 16300 block of 48th Place W, according to the charges. He walked around the property for nearly two hours before Alexey Altukhov went outside to confront the defendant.

“What are you doing here?” Altukhov reportedly asked.

“My house,” Escamilla replied.

Footage then shows Escamilla drawing a pistol and firing at Altukhov, according to charging papers. The man ran back into his home, with Escamilla chasing behind him.

Altukhov’s wife, identified in the charges as Julia Altukhova, called 911, reporting a man with a gun was fighting with her husband, according to a police report.

The defendant continued shooting inside the home before coming back out to get in the couple’s gray Toyota RAV4 parked outside, security cameras reportedly show. Escamilla got out of the vehicle when he heard screams from inside the home, and yelled “Stop screaming.”

Escamilla walked toward the back deck and found Altukhov’s mother, Tatyana Voynova, standing just inside the back door. Footage shows the defendant shooting at her through the window, prosecutors allege.

About three minutes later, Altukhova leaned out the back door with her phone, screaming for help, according to the charges. Escamilla ran around the corner and chased her inside the house. As he followed her, he told her “Stop. It’s OK! I’ll take care of you.”

Immediately after that, three shots can reportedly be heard off camera.

First responders arrived to find Voynova, in the living room with a fatal gunshot wound to the head, investigators wrote. She was 68.

In adjacent bedrooms, Altukhova and Altukhov were critically wounded. He had been shot at least twice in the chest, and she was shot near her eye, according to police. Their two children, ages 5 and 7, were uninjured, hiding in a closet.

Altukhov, 43, and Altukhova, 32, were rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. As of Tuesday, Altukhov had been discharged and Altukhova remained in the intensive care unit, hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg said.

Community members have donated $134,000 to the family in an online fundraiser.

Escamilla stole the couple’s vehicle attempting to flee from law enforcement, charges say. After a chase, Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies arrested him, with the help of police dogs and a helicopter.

The suspect has three prior felony convictions, two for burglary and one for attempted robbery, court records show. All are from over a decade ago and two are from when Escamilla was a minor.

Escamilla’s arraignment was set for Thursday. He remained in the Snohomish County Jail with bail set at $5 million.

Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.