EVERETT — A pair of young men arrested in connection with a shoot-out in Everett on Wednesday tried to convince police they were innocent targets of the gunfire, according to court records.
Police say the evidence quickly showed there was more to the story .
Anthony M. Ram-Bazan, 18, and Christian John Obedoza, 21, both appeared in Everett District Court on Thursday afternoon. A judge determined there was probable cause to hold them for investigation of involvement in a drive-by shooting and weapons violations.
The gunfire was reported about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday along Holly Drive, near Fourth Avenue W.
Witnesses said the combatants were in a Jeep and a smaller, dark-colored car. Bullets flew as they drove down the road.
Police found the empty Jeep stopped in the road. Its emergency flashers were on and there were bullet holes.
Ram-Bazan and Obedoza came out of a nearby home and approached officers. They said they’d been in the Jeep and sought cover in a friend’s home after the vehicle was hit by bullets.
“They denied shooting back and said they did not have guns,” Everett police officer Jared Corson said in a court papers.
Corson detailed how witnesses described the Jeep’s driver — Ram-Bazan — allegedly shooting about five times at the people in the other vehicle. The officer also recounted how a police dog led officers to a nearby home where a semiautomatic handgun was found tucked under a porch. Officers later recovered a backpack with another handgun from inside the home where the pair said they’d sought refuge.
“Both guns were loaded with a round in the chamber,” the officer wrote.
Investigators also were told that before approaching police, the young men washed their hands and changed their clothing.
Ram-Bazan’s bail was set Thursday at $20,000. Obedoza was ordered held on $15,000 bail.
The Jeep was impounded pending a search warrant. No description of the second car was available.
There have been more than 35 shootings in Everett since December, and many of them are believed to be gang-related. Gangs were not mentioned during Thursday’s hearing.
Anyone with information about Wednesday’s incident is asked to call detectives at 425-257-8450 or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS. Callers can be anonymous.
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