Winlock Suspect Tells Police He Shot Ex After Disrespect of Juggalo Gang

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A 20-year-old Winlock man and a 16-year-old Centralia boy are being held on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was shot in the back at 6:30 p.m. Saturday near Winolequa Park in Winlock.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office arrested Joseph M. Lowery, 20, of Winlock, and a 16-year-old Centralia boy on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder.

Lowery later told police he shot the woman, his ex-girlfriend, because she disrespected “the Juggalo family.”

The term “Juggalo” primarily refers to fans of the music group Insane Clown Posse. Law enforcement agencies consider some Juggalo organizations to be gangs.

The 20-year-old victim was talking to a friend on her cell phone when she was shot. The same friend picked her up after the shooting and took her to Providence Centralia Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Lowery and the teen made their first appearances in Lewis County Superior Court Monday.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh asked for $1 million bail for Lowery.

“She was sitting alone. She was shot from a distance. It was a premeditated act,” Beigh said. “There’s a huge safety issue here.”

Beigh noted that Lowery is a self-professed member of a Juggalos gang.

“I don’t know of a greater risk to community safety than a person who’s going to shoot an unarmed person in the back,” she said.

Judge Richard Brosey ordered Lowery held on $500,000 bail. His next court hearing is at 10:40 a.m. Thursday.

Brosey also ordered the teen held in the Lewis County Jail on $500,000 bail. The prosecutor’s office has not yet filed formal charges against the 16-year-old. Brosey granted the prosecution’s request to hold him without charges, saying prosecutors have probable cause to charge him on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder.

Prosecutors are determining whether to charge the teen as an adult. He is scheduled to appear in court at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

On the day of the shooting, the victim was at a mutual friend’s house on Limmer Road in Winlock when she learned Lowery was on his way over, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

She left the residence, and called her friend to come pick her up from the woods in the park.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the 16-year-old allegedly went with Lowery, handed him the gun, and watched him shoot the woman.

Deputies arrested the boy at midnight Saturday at a residence on Sears Road. He was booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder. According to court documents, he told detectives he was also a member of the Juggalo gang, and admitted to having the gun in his possession when arrested. The teen told detectives Lowery had previously threatened to shoot the woman.

Deputies arrested Lowery on Sunday behind his residence in the 200 block of Northwest Arden Street in Winlock.