SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video on a drive-by shooting that killed a Snohomish County corrections officer originally aired on Sept. 8.
A 22-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder for shooting and killing a Snohomish County corrections officer who was attempting to help a deer cross the road at the time of his death.
According to probable cause documents, the corrections officer and his wife were attempting to slow traffic in either direction on South Machias Road in unincorporated Snohomish County on the evening of Sept. 7 to help the deer cross safely. The victim's wife told police it's common for drivers to speed along that road. She said neither she nor her husband were in the roadway.
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. 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, according to probable cause documents.
The victim's wife and a neighbor who was drawn outside by the noise both described the vehicles as a green Jeep Cherokee followed by a four-door sedan. The neighbor described the sedan as having some rear-end damage.
The victim's wife said the suspect, 22-year-old Dylan Picard, was in the sedan following the Jeep Cherokee and had a firearm that was black and white with "some type of light, laser or attachment on top," according to probable cause documents.
Deputies with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) arrived at the scene at around 7:45 p.m. that night and found several bystanders attempting life-saving efforts on the victim. Medical aid arrived on scene and pronounced the victim dead at around 8 p.m.
SCSO investigators obtained surveillance video from a restaurant approximately 0.1 miles 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. Investigators used the surveillance video to get a more detailed description of the car the suspect was believed to be driving and gave the information to local law enforcement agencies.
The next day, an off-duty SCSO deputy spotted a vehicle matching the description of Picard's vehicle in the area of Hartford Drive and 131st Avenue Northeast in Lake Stevens. Deputies and Lake Stevens police officers took him into custody.
When asked if he knew why he was being interviewed, Picard stated, "I shot somebody," according to probable cause documents. He confirmed that the shooting occurred the night before. The suspect told investigators the firearm he used in the shooting was in his vehicle. Investigators discovered it was equipped with a round flashlight and two lasers and had black tape on it that was speckled with white paint, consistent with the victim's wife's description.
Picard said prior to the shooting he was driving around the area and happened to turn on South Machias Road. He said the car in front of him then slowed down, and he saw a man yelling at the car and hitting it with his hands. The suspect said he grabbed his gun because he was scared. When the victim approached Picard's open passenger window, he said he fired one shot to scare the man and the woman who was with him.
Picard claimed he saw the woman reach into a bag or a purse before he fired his weapon. However, body cam video of the scene showed the victim's wife did not have a bag or a purse on her when officers got to the scene.