Bail set for two Olympia men linked to alleged drive-by shooting in Lacey
Two Olympia men accused of participating in a drive-by shooting incident in Lacey are being held in Thurston County jail in lieu of $75,000 bail each.
Police arrested the two men Wednesday evening near 1111 Cooper Point Road SW, several hours after Lacey Police responded to an alleged weapons violation on Martin Way East.
On Thursday, both men attended their preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court. Jeremy Alan Sorrell, 32, and David Alan Stephens, 36, are accused of first-degree assault and drive-by shooting while armed with a firearm.
Sorrell also is accused of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm because of a previous conviction in a Grays Harbor residential burglary case.
Court Commissioner Nathan Kortokrax found probable cause for the alleged crimes and set the bail amount. In doing so, he reasoned the two men may fail to reappear, commit a violent crime or interfere with the case.
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the alleged shooting from the perspective of law enforcement.
At about 4 p.m. Wednesday, Lacey police contacted a person at the Lacey Park & Ride on Martin Way who said three men shot at him from a vehicle that then drove west.
Police observed two areas on the man’s vehicle that appeared to have been struck by projectiles, according to the statement.
The man told police Sorrell had confronted him with two other men at Sutter Metals about a money debt. He alleged Sorrell threatened his life with a handgun.
The man said he managed to drive away, towards the Department of Corrections office on Martin Way. When he got near the office, he heard three gunshots and ducked in his vehicle.
Employees at Sutter Metal confirmed that a disturbance occurred involving a maroon van. They shared transaction information with police, indicating the driver was Stephens.
Police reportedly found three 9 mm shell casings at the scene of the alleged shooting. Surveillance footage from a nearby business confirmed a maroon van chased after the reporting man’s vehicle, according to the statement.
Later that evening, an Olympia police officer received an “attempt to locate suspect” message from Lacey police. He realized he had seen a van driven by Stephens earlier on Harrison Avenue, so he returned to the area to investigate.
The officer located the van parked in The Park at Cooper Point’s parking lot and observed from a distance. At one point the vehicle backed out and drove out of the apartment complex.
With the help of two other officers, the initial officer followed the vehicle and positively identified Stephens as the driver and Sorrell as a passenger.
Stephens reportedly stopped the vehicle near O’Reilly’s Auto Parts on Cooper Point Road. Sorrell then exited the vehicle, allowing officers to arrest him “without incident,” the statement says.
Police searched Sorrell and reported finding drug paraphernalia and possible narcotics in a small baggie. They also found his phone which was being used to listen to police radio traffic, according to the probable cause statement. A K9 unit tracked the gun to a thick, wooded area nearby.
In an interview with police, Sorrell reportedly said he confronted the reporting man because he allegedly stripped about 450 pounds of copper wire. He also alleged Stephens was the one who fired the weapon.
Sorrell said Stephens cleaned his hands at an apartment and then handed the gun to Sorrell, who later attempted to dispose of it in the wooded area.
Police arrested Stephens, but he declined to provide a statement and was booked into jail “without incident,” according to the statement.
