Judge: Murder charge stands in drive-by shooting

EVERETT — The man accused of gunning down 15-year-old Molly Conley last year will stand trial for her killing in a few weeks.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne on Friday declined to throw out the first-degree murder charge against Erick Walker.

The Marysville man’s defense attorney had filed a motion to dismiss the charge, saying that there isn’t enough evidence to link his client to the fatal June 1, 2013 drive-by shooting.

Walker, 28, has repeatedly denied shooting anyone or at any homes.

Molly was struck in the neck as she and friends walked along South Lake Stevens Road. Two of the slain girl’s friends told detectives the gunshot came from a passing car. Molly collapsed on the side of the road.

Investigators didn’t find the bullet that killed the Seattle teenager or any casings or genetic evidence linking Walker to the homicide, Everett defense attorney Mark Mestel said.

The prosecutor’s case against his client is based on speculation and not on a rational inference of the evidence, the veteran lawyer said.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Edirin Okoloko said Walker can be directly tied to gunfire at five houses in Lake Stevens and Marysville a few hours after Molly was killed.

State forensic scientists reportedly matched bullets recovered in those shootings with two handguns seized from Walker’s home. There also is evidence that Walker’s car crashed into a parked vehicle near the drive-by shooting scene in Marysville.

Prosecutors believe they have a strong, circumstantial case that Molly’s death and the other drive-by shootings are connected.

By his own accounts, Walker was driving around Lake Stevens at the time of the killing, Okoloko said. Walker told detectives he was the only one in possession of his guns. No casings were found at any of the shooting locations. A lone shot was fired at Molly and single shots were fired at each of the houses, Okoloko said.

Wynne concluded the law doesn’t require him to consider the murder case in isolation.

Witnesses reported that they believe Molly was hit by gunfire coming through the rolled-down passenger-side window of a dark-colored vehicle. Evidence suggests the same thing happened when shots were fired in Marysville. The incidents happened within three hours of each other, Wynne said.

The murder charge is based mostly on circumstantial evidence, the judge said. That type of evidence is sufficient for a jury to decide a case, Wynne said.

The judge also declined the defense’s request to suppress any evidence that was gathered from Walker’s cellphone, bank and phone records. Mestel had argued that the search warrants were overly broad and failed to show a connection between the crimes that were being investigated and the evidence that was searched and seized.

Wynne didn’t agree with Mestel’s criticisms of the search warrants.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin later this month. The trial is expected to last about three weeks.

Prosecutors on Friday filed additional charges against Walker. They tacked on four counts of first-degree assault with a firearm stemming from the gunfire that struck occupied homes in Lake Stevens and Marysville.

Prosecutors say that there were lights on in the houses, an indication that someone was inside. They allege that Walker intended to harm someone by firing into occupied houses.

Walker pleaded not guilty to the new charges.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley

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.

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.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

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.