EVERETT — Two months after his release from prison for shooting a woman in the back, an Arlington man nicknamed “Danger” has been charged with first-degree assault for shooting a stranger in the head, prosecutors say.
It’s at least the third time he has been accused of shooting someone. One of those was fatal.
On July 3, Jose Espinoza Aguilar shot a man at point-blank rage “without provocation or warning” at an apartment complex, according to charging papers. Police were called to reports of gunfire in the 10100 block of Holly Drive in Everett. First responders arrived to find a man suffered a gunshot to the head and transported him to a hospital.
The wounded man lost his eyesight. He also suffered significant memory loss and other cognitive problems as a result of his injuries, according to charging papers filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Police reviewed security footage from the apartment complex and identified the suspected shooter as Espinoza Aguilar.
Two weeks later, police found Espinoza Aguilar in the driver’s seat of a car registered to his mother. Law enforcement surrounded the defendant. He tried to flee and crashed head-on into a police car, prosecutors wrote.
Espinoza Aguilar and a passenger were detained.
The passenger reportedly told police that Espinoza Aguilar always carried a gun.
Police searched the car the defendant was driving and found 25 grams of meth, 712 counterfeit fentanyl pills and a 9 mm handgun, the charges say.
Court records show Espinoza Aguilar has had at least 24 prior arrest warrants in Washington.
In 2015, he claimed self-defense when he shot a man to death. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to second-degree assault for shooting a woman in the back at Langus Riverfront Park.
Espinoza Aguilar was sentenced to five years in prison for the shooting at the park. Police reports say he was released in May, but remained on probation through the state Department of Corrections.
At an arraignment hearing Wednesday, Judge Karen Moore maintained the defendant’s bail at $1 million. He remained in custody at the Snohomish County Jail.
If he’s found guilty, Espinoza Aguilar faces between 13½ to 18 years in prison, the charges say.
Ellen Dennis: 425-339-3486; ellen.dennis@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterellen.
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