Bullets link murder suspect to other shootings

EVERETT — State forensic scientists have matched five bullets recovered in a string of shootings in Snohomish County with two handguns seized from the home of a Marysville man suspected of the June 1 killing of a Seattle girl, a judge was told Tuesday.

There is “fairly overwhelming circumstantial evidence” that the killing of Molly Conley, 15, and the drive-by shootings a short time later in Lake Stevens and Marysville were committed by the same person, Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe said during a brief hearing in Everett District Court.

Judge Tam Bui ruled there’s probable cause to hold Erick Nathaniel Walker, 27, for investigation of second-degree murder and multiple counts of drive-by shooting.

She set his bail at $5 million.

Before the afternoon was out, prosecutors charged Walker with one count of second-degree murder, five counts of second-degree assault and four counts of drive-by shooting.

Molly was shot while walking with friends who joined her in Lake Stevens for a birthday celebration.

Walker is represented by Mark Mestel, a seasoned defense attorney from Everett. The lawyer didn’t contest there is evidence to suspect his client in the drive-bys, but he reserved argument on bail and whether prosecutors have cause to hold his client on a homicide allegation.

Outside the courtroom, Mestel said that no evidence has been produced so far connecting Walker to the girl’s killing.

The investigation continues, Roe said. Among other things, he said, detectives expect to analyze information from cellphones and cellphone towers. The data can be used to place a person near a crime scene at a specific time.

Conley’s killing and gunfire that broke out early June 2 in Lake Stevens and Marysville was investigated by a team of a dozen detectives.

In a 24-page affidavit filed with the court, Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Brad Pince detailed how a trail of spent bullets, paint chips and circumstance led investigators to Walker.

He was arrested Friday after detectives concluded that paint chips and damage to Walker’s black Pontiac G6 coupe are consistent with evidence left when the shooter’s vehicle crashed into a car parked at one of the drive-by shootings, just blocks from the man’s home.

Detectives also determined from firearms registration records, and from reviewing the man’s Facebook photos, that Walker owned a Ruger Blackhawk handgun and M1 carbine rifles, which fire the same .30-caliber ammunition recovered at the drive-by shootings.

When Walker’s weapons were seized, detectives learned he owned two .30-caliber Ruger Blackhawk handguns, Roe said.

Tests by the Washington State Patrol crime lab matched two of the slugs recovered in the investigation to one of the handguns, and three to another, he said.

While no bullets were recovered at the scene of Molly’s killing, the prosecutor said investigators believe they not only have tracked down her killer, but also have identified the firearms he used.

“These are the two weapons that we believe were used in these crimes,” Roe said.

Walker is a Boeing worker who grew up in Stanwood. His most serious brushes with the law so far appear to have been some speeding tickets.

The sheriff’s office on Monday said that they’ve found no connection between him and Molly, and that it appears the gunfire was random.

Prosecutors have until July 19* to move the case to Snohomish County Superior Court. They’ve made clear they’d like to file a first-degree murder charge, based on a theory that the gunfire exhibited extreme indifference to human life. The second-degree murder charge filed Tuesday alleges the killing occurred while Walker was engaged in felony assault.

Scott North: 425-339-3431, north@heraldnet.com.

* Correction: This article has been corrected since it was first posted to accurately state the deadline for prosecutors to move the case to superior court.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.