EVERETT — A woman who shot a man in the stomach last month near Everett High School isn’t expected to face any assault charges for the gunfire.
A witness told police that the man was chasing after Breayan Lane, yelling at her. Lane, 18, ordered the man to back away but he ignored her warnings, a witness told police. Another witness said Lane pleaded with the man to leave her alone. She said the man was shot as he reached for Lane’s shoulder.
“Independent witnesses present at the shooting have consistently described a situation that justifies the defendant’s use of force, or at least prevents the state from currently proving otherwise,” Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Matt Hunter wrote.
Hunter, however, charged Lane on Friday with possession of a stolen firearm. The defendant reportedly admitted that she’d stolen the gun hours before the Sept. 28 shooting. Lane was being held on $100,000 bail.
With the high school nearby, the shooting sent police racing to the scene. The victim nearby refused to provide police any information about who shot him, according to court papers.
Detectives found a 9mm casing near where the man had fallen. A bullet fell from his clothing when he was lifted onto a gurney.
Officers brought in a dog to scour the area. The dog found a red sweatshirt that matched the description of what the shooter had been wearing. The dog also found a backpack abandoned under some stairs at an apartment building. A 9mm pistol was found inside. Officers also found Lane’s library card inside.
About a week later detectives heard that the Lane was talking about the shooting. Detectives spoke with the victim again. He declined to give a formal statement but told police that Lane had stolen his phone during an argument about an unpaid drug debt. He said he’d fronted Lane some methamphetamine but she never paid him or returned the drugs.
He said he spotted Lane on Sept. 28 walking along Colby Avenue and yelled at her about his phone. She pulled out a gun and chambered a round but he didn’t think the gun was real so he continued to chase after her, he said. Lane ran away after shooting him.
“He claimed to have poor eyesight and was uncertain about identifying the defendant as the woman who shot him,” Hunter wrote.
Lane was arrested Oct. 13 and allegedly admitted to shooting the man, according to court papers. She told police he had assaulted her three days earlier and she feared he’d hurt her again. Lane told police she was on her way to sell the gun when the man confronted her.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463l; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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