MACHIAS — Police have collected new information that shows the man who shot an off-duty Monroe prison officer last month told tall tales.
Dan Spaeth and his wife were frantically attempting to slow down or block traffic on S. Machias Road near their home to assist a family of deer to cross the road.
Shooter Dylan Picard, 22, made it sound like he got scared and overreacted by firing at Spaeth when the man came up to his car window, and sobbed to police as if he didn't know he'd killed someone. But Picard and his friends had found the news of Spaeth's death on the internet as soon as four hours after it happened.
The three co-workers were friends who had been drinking and hanging out before the incident.
One of Picard's co-workers was in the passenger seat of his car, while another co-worker was in a Jeep SUV ahead of him.
Police have learned that to make the shot, Picard had reached around his female passenger to shoot. He then showed her the casing and boasted he is "the real one," police wrote in court documents filed Friday, Sept. 29.
Police indicate he deliberately aimed to shoot "center mass" at Spaeth's heart. A witness said he heard someone yell a profanity before there was a pop and Spaeth began to bleed out.
Not much lined up in Picard's initial story to police, either.
Picard told police he was frightened after Spaeth had hit the Jeep with his hand and then “came running” up to Picard's car. The Jeep's driver told police nobody banged on his rig or acted aggressively toward him in the encounter.
Spaeth was an officer who worked at the Twin Rivers Unit in the Monroe Correctional Complex.
Picard has been charged with second-degree murder. If convicted, he could face just under 30 years in prison. State law says the charge requires prosecutors show Picard intended to shoot to kill to have second-degree murder stick.
His jury trial in Snohomish County Superior Court is currently scheduled for Nov. 9.
A judge set bail at $1 million, and he remains in jail.
Picard had his case refiled Sept. 29 into Snohomish County Superior Court with a revised prosecution report that includes the new police interviews and information. His case had been initially filed in Everett District Court.
Prior coverage:
Lake Stevens man admits to Machias shooting when asked in traffic stop
MACHIAS — The man who raised his gun and shot a man in the chest while driving on a Machias roadway cried when told his action killed someone. The scene in the twilight hours of Sept. 7 was that the man he shot and his wife were attempting to slow down or block traffic on S. Machias Road near their home because deer were crossing the road.
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