CRIME BLOTTER

Suspect arrested in shooting of man trying to help deer cross the road

Sep 12, 2023, 10:43 AM | Updated: 2:36 pm

Deer crossing roads can often cause accidents. (Getty Images)...

Deer crossing roads can often cause accidents. (Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

A man was arrested in the case of a Snohomish County corrections officer who was shot and killed while helping deer cross the road.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on social media last week a 22-year-old Lake Stevens man was taken into custody Friday for second-degree murder in connection with Thursday night’s drive-by shooting in Snohomish.

On Monday, Everett District Court Commissioner Jennifer Millett found probable cause for second-degree murder and set bail for the suspect, Dylan Picard, at $500,000, according to the Everett Herald.

According to probable cause documents, the victim and his wife were trying to slow traffic on South Machias Road in unincorporated Snohomish County Thursday night to help the deer cross safely.

The victim’s wife said she had her back to her husband as she was attempting to slow traffic going southbound while her husband was attempting to slow traffic going northbound.

According to the documents, she then heard what she described as a “pop” and turned around to find her husband lying in the roadway with a gunshot wound to his chest as two cars sped past.

Investigators obtained surveillance video from a restaurant a short distance away from the shooting that showed what appeared to be a dark-colored Jeep Cherokee followed by a silver or light-colored four-door sedan driving past. This area is just southwest of Doc’s Riverside Taphouse.

Probable cause documents say that the suspect admitted to shooting someone.

A spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) confirmed the deceased, Dan Spaeth, was a corrections officer at the Monroe Correctional Complex, the Everett Herald noted. An online fundraiser for Spaeth’s family on GoFundMe had secured over $25,000 in donations by Tuesday afternoon.

Person found dead in Silverdale home, sheriff investigating ‘suspicious death’

A suspicious death investigation is underway in Silverdale, with Kitsap County detectives looking into a person found by a family member dead in their home.

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office says a person was found dead inside a home on Kensington Lane just before 7 p.m. Monday.

More crime news: Officer in Edmonds hit with personal car during theft

The identity of the person has not been released, and no other details are available.

Bremerton police detectives are assisting with the case.

Contributing: L.G. Gilbert, Bill Kaczaraba, Steve Coogan

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