EVERETT — The suspects in a drive-by shooting in south Everett might have thought they were hitting a competing drug house, according to new court papers.
They also might have picked the wrong house, a witness told a Snohomish County sheriff’s detective.
A Lake Stevens man is believed to be behind the Feb. 6 gunfire near 107 Place W, south of Everett city limits. He also is a suspect in two other drive-by shootings in the city a few days earlier. Those are believed to be gang-related.
Prosecutors Thursday charged Marco Martinez with first-degree assault and drive-by shooting for the February incident. He also has been charged with drug trafficking following a March 22 arrest in Everett. Police allege that Martinez, 20, was caught with heroin, a large amount of cash, drug ledgers and two firearms, including a stolen pistol.
A week before his arrest, Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives and other police unearthed two loaded handguns near the playground at Olivia Park Elementary School. One of the guns is believed to have been used in the Feb. 6 drive-by shooting.
Police started using metal detectors at area schools to locate the guns after hearing from multiple sources that Martinez and co-defendant Fericit Varga hid the weapons near an elementary after the drive-by shooting.
The firearms were unearthed barely below the surface of the soil near the playground, Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Kendra Conley wrote in a police affidavit.
Both were loaded. The .45-caliber gun had a live round in the chamber and the safety was off. The second firearm, a 9mm, didn’t have a round in the chamber but the magazine was full, according to court papers. It was reported stolen.
The school is a short distance from the victims’ house. Bullets struck the garage door, a large front window, and siding near the front door. Five people were home, including two children. No one was hurt.
Investigators were initially told Martinez targeted the house because he believed his girlfriend was being held or had been held there against her will. She was not.
A witness later told detectives that Martinez was sending a message to a competing drug house. The witness “now thinks maybe Martinez shot at the wrong house because ‘Manny’ does not live there,” Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Jarett Goodkin wrote in the charging papers.
Varga, 20, also is charged with drive-by shooting. Prosecutors allege he was behind the wheel and crashed the getaway car a short distance from the victims’ house. There was snow and slush on the roads. Detectives suspect Varga, Martinez and possibly a third man ran from the car and buried the guns near the school. Varga returned to the vehicle as deputies were canvassing the neighborhood.
Deputies recovered multiple .45-caliber shell casings in his backpack, Goodkin wrote in charging papers. The markings on the casings matched those of the ones recovered at the crime scene.
Varga denied shooting at the house. He couldn’t explain why he had shell casings.
A deputy asked Varga if “the gun was in a safe spot so a kid doesn’t find it.”
He allegedly replied, “Ya, it’s in a safe spot, man.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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