EVERETT — A gunman fatally shot a man with a pellet gun Thursday morning, following an argument outside a south Everett home, police said.
Everett District Court Judge Anthony Howard set bail at $25,000 Friday for the man arrested for investigation of manslaughter in the second degree.
The defendant did not appear in court, however, due to being in the detox center in Snohomish County Jail.
Around 6 a.m. Thursday, a man showed up to a house on Juniper Road near Sunrise Drive and began banging on the front door and windows, according to a police report. The man was reportedly trying to contact someone who lived there. A resident told him the person was not there, and that the man needed to leave, a witness told investigators. The man left, but showed up again shortly afterward.
An armed man came outside to confront the alleged intruder, according to a witness statement.
A 911 call around 6:45 a.m. documented “two men yelling” on an open phone line, the police report read.
“Why can’t we just stop and — ” one man said in background.
“You’re a lying (expletive),” another man said.
The operator reportedly never spoke with the person who made the call.
According to the homeowner, security footage showed the suspect and the other man moved to the side of the house, out of view from a camera. The witness heard a “pop sound,” while watching the footage, the police report read. Both men then left the property, the witness said.
The suspect returned to the home by himself, holding a pellet rifle, according to the witnesses account. He reportedly told the homeowner he had shot the man.
Other witnesses reported seeing two men yelling on Sunrise Drive.
Police arrived on Sunrise. The alleged shooter, wearing an orange puffer jacket, flagged officers down. He then walked north on Juniper and left the scene, police wrote.
Officers found the man on the ground with a cell phone on top of his face, the police report read. Investigators determined it was the same phone used to call 911 earlier.
Paramedics attempted CPR, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The deceased has not been publicly identified as of Friday.
Examiners later found a small hole in the man’s back consistent with a gunshot wound, according to police. An autopsy determined he was shot with a pellet gun, and the round hit vital organs.
Around 2 p.m., police arrested the suspect at the Juniper Road home. On the staircase, investigators found an orange puffer jacket and a “break action” pellet rifle.
Police arrested the suspect on several other warrants for criminal mischief, a gross misdemeanor. Court records suggest he had no prior felony convictions.
In court papers, officers described the suspect’s relationship to the deceased man as a “friend of a friend.”
According to state law, first-degree manslaughter implies someone “recklessly” caused the death of another person. Second-degree manslaughter means someone caused a death “with criminal negligence.”
The suspect remained behind bars this week.
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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