Two men were charged with first-degree murder Thursday in connection with the August death of a man who was shot in the head at close range in Everett, officials said.
The Snohomish County Superior Court charges were filed in the death of Forrest Starrett, 48, of Marysville. His body was found Aug. 21 next to a Ford Ranger pickup in a parking lot in the 8700 block of Holly Drive.
A judge Thursday signed arrest warrants seeking $1 million bail for both the suspects.
Charged are Tsegazeab A. Zerahaimanot, 23, of Mountlake Terrace and Steven Lavelle Lee, 25, of Everett.
Starrett had visiting a friend at an apartment where drugs and alcohol were being used, deputy prosecutor Lisa Paul said in charging papers.
Zerahaimanot and Lee also came to the apartment, but the person who rented the place wanted them to leave. They didn’t.
The defendants became suspicious of Starrett and asked if he was a “cop,” Paul wrote.
“The situation quickly deteriorated,” papers said. “The defendants confronted (Starrett) in the kitchen, yelling at him and holding him there with guns to his head, the contents of his pockets emptied onto the table.”
The two men took Starrett outside and put him in the passenger side of his truck. Both pointed guns at his head, Paul said.
One witness saw Starrett grab the gun held by Zerahaimanot and the gun fired, apparently hitting the victim in the lower part of his body.
Zerahaimanot ran to a car in the parking lot, but Lee stayed behind and shot Starrett in the head at close range, Paul alleged.
Everett police found spent shell casings from two different weapons. At the time of the shooting, police said the defendants drove away in a white Ford Explorer and a silver or gray compact car.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or jhaley@heraldnet.com.
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