Authorities expect investigatory findings of a deputy-involved shooting will be sent to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office and Sheriff’s Office the week of March 18, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.
Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer will then conduct a criminal review of the investigation to determine whether the shooting was justified.
After Meyer’s decision, the sheriff’s office will conduct its own internal investigation, the office said in a press release.
Two deputies — Deputy Robert Nelson and Reserve Deputy Mark Anders — have remained on administrative leave throughout the investigation, which is headed up by a multi-agency Critical Incident Investigation Team (CIIT). The CIIT consists of authorities from Thurston, Mason, Grays Harbor, Pacific counties and Washington State Patrol.
Nelson and Anders both fired their weapons, killing 40-year-old Robert D. Richardson of Graham. Richardson was the sole occupant of a vehicle parked in the 100 block of Rainey Creek Road in Glenoma early March 3. He was wanted on a Pierce County warrant for two counts of first-degree rape of a child and two counts of first-degree child molestation.
When the deputies asked Richardson to get out of the car, he pointed a weapon at them, authorities say, prompting the deputies to shoot.
Authorities have not released what type of weapon Richardson held.
