EVERETT — A Tacoma man suspected of opening fire and killing an innocent bystander earlier this year at Daleway Park in Lynnwood has been arrested, police said Monday.
On Saturday, authorities detained Raven Lonewarrior Brealan, 24, at an Amtrak station in Tacoma, according to a police report. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and first-degree robbery, in the killing of Carl Bridgmon, 70, a retired man who often went to the park to drink his coffee.
Bridgmon happened to be there on the afternoon of April 5, when he witnessed an argument over a cannabis deal between four people in the parking lot. Shots were fired around 2:15 p.m.
Police were called to the park at 19015 64th Ave. W in Lynnwood. Officers arrived to find Bridgmon deceased in the driver’s seat of a black Chevrolet Impala in the parking lot. There were several bullet holes in the driver’s side door of the Impala. Twelve 7.62x39mm rifle casings — commonly used with AK-47-style firearms — were found in the parking lot.
Bridgmon frequented the small forested park near Highway 99 several times a week, according to a statement from his family.
Earlier this year, the suspected driver in the shooting, Leif Smith, 21, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Smith had shown up to the park with Lonewarrior Brealan, according to police.
The day of the shooting, two young men, both 18, told police they’d gone to the park that day to meet a man one of them knew as “Bubba,” later identified as Smith, and buy $35 worth of marijuana, according to police. When the pair arrived, Smith reportedly sent a message telling them to meet in the bathroom, then sent another message saying to meet at his car.
One of the teens reportedly asked to see the bag of weed to check its quality. An argument escalated, police wrote, and the driver and passenger began punching the two teens inside the car. The teens ran from the park. One of them reportedly heard loud pops and looked back to see one of the two men holding a rifle and shooting at them from the car.
The suspected shooter, later identified as Lonewarrior Brealan, would remain at large for about six more months.
In May, a Seattle detective contacted Lynnwood police to report an anonymous crime tip she received regarding a homicide and a suspect who lived in White Center. When the detective saw media coverage of the Daleway Park shooting, she believed it was related to the tip.
The tipster had reported a man named Raven and one of Raven’s friends went to do a drug deal and it turned into a fight, police wrote. Somebody who knew Raven reportedly told the tipster “bad things happened” and “everything was not OK.”
Further investigation showed records for Lonewarrior Brealan having a past address in Lynnwood. On Oct. 20, a detective contacted the anonymous tipster from May. The detective learned Lonewarrior Brealan was reportedly living with his grandmother, and that he had plans to travel to California by bus or train in the coming weeks to attend a DUI court hearing.
Authorities learned the suspect had purchased a round-trip Amtrak ticket to California, departing from Tacoma on Saturday morning.
When he was arrested, Lonewarrior Brealan reportedly told police he thought a vehicle he fired at was associated with the other people in the drug deal, because “people who intend to rob other people bring friends who are armed,” police wrote.
The suspect destroyed his phone upon fleeing the scene, police wrote, and burned everything he was wearing that day.
The suspect reportedly told police he believed he and Smith were about to be shot.
On Monday, Everett District Court judge Tam Bui found probable cause for the charges against Lonewarrior Brealan. She set bail at $2 million.
Ellen Dennis: 425-339-3486; edennis@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterellen.
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