Bail set for man accused of shooting Proud Boy on Sept. 4. Here’s how police found him
An Olympia man accused of shooting a Proud Boys member on Sept. 4 is being held in Thurston County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Olympia police arrested Benjamin Anthony Varela, 36, on Thursday on suspicion of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon.
Judge John Skinder found probable cause for the crime during Varela’s preliminary hearing Friday in Thurston County Superior Court. He set the bail amount, citing a concern Varela may commit a violent crime, according to court records.
Varela’s arrest came nearly three weeks after the Proud Boys, a right-wing group, and people allied with Antifa, a group against fascism, clashed in downtown Olympia.
The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. at the Intercity Transit Station, the Olympian previously reported. Police released video of the incident, showing a group of people dressed in black running through the transit center.
At one point, the pursuing group of Proud Boys appears to engage a person who stumbles through some bushes before turning back to fire a handgun five times. Police believe Varela was that shooter.
Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, a regular Proud Boys organizer from the Portland area, suffered a gunshot wound to the foot during the incident, Portland area media reported. He was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia following the shooting.
In the aftermath, residents complained about a lack of police response and the city braced itself for the Proud Boys’ return on Sept. 18 in response to the shooting. However, the Proud Boys’ rally outside City Hall came and went without violence, the Olympian reported.
Law enforcement’s investigation
A probable cause statement included among the court documents describes a detective’s investigation into the shooting.
After being notified of the shooting, the statement says police arrived on scene and found five 9-millimeter shell casings. They also collected video from security cameras at the station, which produced the video police later shared with the public.
From that video, police determined Toese “physically engaged” the person they believe to be Varela with a baton, per the statement.
The detective notes the person attempted to pepper spray Toese at this point, but another Proud Boys member shoved him through some bushes. The shooting occurs after this interaction.
In an interview at the hospital, Toese told the detective his group came to Olympia to disrupt what they believed was an Antifa protest.
He confirmed details of the confrontation and the shooting at the Transit Center, the statement says, but he could not identify the person who shot him.
Using video from Quality Self Storage and Union Gospel Mission, the detective traced the shooter’s steps through the area. The detective determined the shooter reached an alley near the Mission and changed clothes, according to the statement.
The statement says the video showed a man with dark-framed eyeglasses, a pointy face, short hair and little to no facial hair. However, the detective could still not identify the man.
The detective retrieved a black T-shirt, a black beanie and a black face mask where the man had discarded it and submitted it for DNA processing, the statement says.
Additional video from City Hall from before the shooting showed the man holding hands with a woman, according to the statement. Using more security footage, the detective followed this woman throughout the protest and noted a moment when she removed her face mask.
Based on her tattoos and other characteristics, the statement says the detective identified the woman after searching several databases and the internet.
Information from an August traffic stop revealed she drove a car registered to Varela, per the statement. The detective also determined she lived with Varela, based on the address on each of their driver’s licenses.
The detective notes Varela’s appearance in his license photograph matches the person in the security footage retrieved earlier.
From there, police began surveilling Varela’s home. On Thursday, they arrested him on suspicion of malicious mischief, per the statement.
During the arrest, the statement says, police determined his tattoos matched the person in the security footage and he was later booked in Thurston County jail on suspicion of first-degree assault.
The woman who lived at his residence told the detective she took part in a protest on Sept. 4 but did not know anything about Varela having shot someone, according to the statement.
She said Varela had been “beat up” and assaulted with pepper spray and a bat that day, per the statement.
With a search warrant, the statement says the detective looked through Varela’s home and found a handgun in a locked container under his bed.
Varela’s arraignment is set for Oct. 5. A pretrial services screening document notes he has no known criminal history.
This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 2:13 PM.
