Why did a woman get shot near Yelm last week? Court records detail investigation
A 40-year-old man accused of shooting a woman near Yelm on Sept. 1 is being held in the Thurston County jail in lieu of $300,000 bail.
Cody Andrew Merritt turned himself in to law enforcement Sept. 4 after a three-day search. He appeared in Thurston County Superior Court on Thursday for a warrant identification hearing.
Judge Christine M. Schaller set bail and forbade Merritt from contacting the victim, a woman in her mid-30s who he allegedly shot in the head.
The incident occurred at a property on the 16900 block of 148th Avenue Southeast, which is south of Yelm, near Lake Lawrence. The woman was treated by first responders before being airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for emergency surgery, according to court records.
Deputies booked Merritt into the county jail Wednesday on suspicion of two counts of first-degree assault, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, and felony harassment.
Court records show prosecutors charged him with those crimes on Sept. 3 and the court authorized a warrant for his arrest the same day.
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the shooting from the perspective of law enforcement.
Deputies responded to the property after an anonymous person called 911 and alleged Merritt had shot a woman, according to court records. Two other people reportedly called 911 to report the woman was bleeding from the back of the head.
Several people were on the property where the shooting occurred when deputies arrived.
One person told deputies that he heard three gunshots while he was working on a motor home near the front of the property, according to the statement. The person reportedly said he paused and then heard another gunshot followed by the injured woman’s partner yelling something to the effect of, “You shot her!”
A few moments later, the person went to the back of the property and found the injured woman lying near her black SUV. He said he tried to aid the woman until first responders arrived.
The person told deputies that the woman’s partner ran away before law enforcement arrived because he had an active arrest warrant, according to the statement.
Though he did not witness the shooting, the person told deputies that Merritt owned a rifle similar to an AR-15 and he was the only person on the property who was unaccounted for.
A woman who was on the property also spoke with deputies. She said she was taking a shower when she heard screaming. She exited a home on the property, discovered the injured woman and called 911.
She told deputies Merritt owned BB guns and real firearms, including a rifle similar to an AR-15, according to the statement. She reportedly alleged that Merritt used meth, had become increasingly paranoid, had accused several people of stealing and appeared agitated the morning of the shooting.
A SWAT team scoured the property for Merritt after deputies obtained a search warrant, according to the statement. As that occurred, deputies reported receiving reports of a man matching Merritt’s description crossing Vail Road and cutting through yards.
Deputies tried to track Merritt with a K9 dog but they were unsuccessful.
The injured woman’s partner later emerged from a wooded area and decided to speak with investigators. He allegedly told deputies that Merritt approached him and his partner as they were talking.
He told deputies Merritt exited a home on the property with a rifle, fired several shots into the air, pointed the rifle at him and his partner and threatened them. He said Merritt then fired a round at them.
The woman screamed and held her head as she sank down into the driver’s seat of her SUV, the man reportedly told deputies. The man then ran into the woods to hide from Merritt, who he said continued to threaten him.
The man told deputies Merritt owned multiple firearms and had recently been mentally unstable, according to the statement.
Deputies noted that the SUV had a shattered driver’s side window and a bullet hole on the headrest of the driver’s seat. They reported finding three bullet casings near the front of a home on the property and a fourth casing was found in the bed of a truck several yards from the SUV.
Inside the home, deputies reported finding two BB guns, a .22-caliber rifle on a wall rack and a green ammunition container that included “live 300-win rounds.”
Deputies noted Merritt was not allowed to own firearms due to a previous felony conviction.
