A 29-year-old man has been arrested in connection to a Spokane Valley drug robbery that left a 16-year-old boy dead in March, police said.
Brendon M. McCullough, who has multiple felony convictions, was charged on suspicion of attempted first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to information filed in Spokane County Superior Court.
Nathaniel Byers died March 10 — two days after the shooting — from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office.
The investigation indicates McCullough and Byers went to an apartment at 4009 S. Bowdish Road to commit a drug robbery, according to a Spokane Valley Police Department news release.
McCullough went to the apartment with a woman while Byers and another man stayed outside with the vehicles. Once inside the apartment, the drug deal turned into a robbery, with McCullough producing a handgun, police said.
McCullough and the man who lives at the apartment struggled over the firearm, and at least one shot was fired.
The woman who arrived with McCullough fled the apartment as Byers, listening to an open phone call, heard the fight and ran to the apartment armed with a pistol. The fleeing woman jumped into a car with the man who stayed with Byers outside, and they drove away.
The son of the man who resides in the apartment came from a back room to assist and saw McCullough struggling with his father over a pistol that dropped to the ground. The son picked up the handgun as Byers got to the front door of the apartment armed with a gun.
Facing each other, Byers and the son exchanged gunfire, with the son being shot in his hand and Byers in the head, police said.
The son then turned his attention to McCullough, who was still fighting with his dad, and shot McCullough, the release said.
McCullough fled in a white Yukon and drove to a gas station at 32nd Avenue and State Route 27, where he stopped and discarded several items into a garbage can, according to police.
A Washington State Patrol trooper searching for McCullough's vehicle noticed his white Yukon traveling north on State Route 27 at speeds over 100 mph. The trooper saw the SUV crash off the side of the road near East 16th Avenue and State Route 27, police said.
Several deputies responded to assist, and they took McCullough into custody. He was taken to the hospital for his gunshot wounds.
According to court documents, Ring doorbell camera footage showed McCullough and the woman knocking on the door early that morning, the door being answered and the two going inside.
Almost 1 1/2 minutes later, Byers could be seen coming up the stairs holding a pistol. Screaming could be heard in the background, and someone possibly yelling, "Nate!" the footage shows.
The woman emerged from the apartment and told Byers, "He's in there, he's in there," according to the footage. Byers entered the apartment, and gunshots could be heard almost immediately. Byers could be seen falling to the ground just outside the door.
The man who lives at the apartment told detectives McCullough pointed a gun at him, saying, "I want it all," after McCullough and the woman knocked on his door, documents say. McCullough hit him on his head with the pistol, and the two wrestled over the gun, which fired at least twice. He said he yelled for his son, who rushed into the kitchen, to help.
Byers appeared during the struggle over the gun. The man heard more gunshots from near the front door. Eventually, McCullough threw the gun across the floor, ran out of the house and got into a white SUV, the man alleges.
The man's son told police he heard his father screaming his name and knew something was wrong. He left his bedroom and saw his dad tackling McCullough. He saw McCullough drop a revolver, so he picked it up off the floor.
The son said Byers came around the corner from the front door and pointed a pistol at him from close range, documents show. He said he and Byers shot each other at the same time. He believed Byers ran out the front door after the exchange of gunfire. He said he noticed he had been shot in the hand.
He said his dad was still wrestling with McCullough and asked him what he should do, and if he should shoot McCullough. He then shot him.
McCullough told detectives he had come to the apartment to buy a drug for $1,200 from the man who lived there. He did not know the man, and the drug buy was facilitated by the woman.
McCullough said the man invited him and the woman inside.
He and the man argued about the price of the drug, and the man pulled out a gun on McCullough and tried to rob him. The two then wrestled over the gun, the man's son came out from a back room holding a revolver and he got shot.
The woman told police she did not know about McCullough's plans to rob the man, according to documents. She arranged to bring McCullough to the residence to buy drugs from the man that night, and the man was expecting them to show up around this time.
She said McCullough and the man were on their cellphones discussing CashApp and McCullough buying a drug for $1,200. The conversation was normal and calm.
Then, McCullough got into the man's face. The two men started fighting and went down to the ground, and she heard a gunshot, followed by the man calling for his son. She bolted out the front door of the apartment. As she exited, she saw Byers standing outside the apartment with a gun in his hand.
She heard three or four more gunshots as she ran to the road.
Detectives seized large amounts of controlled substances and drug paraphernalia, including scales and packaging, numerous firearms, large amounts of cash, two safes and multiple cellphones from the apartment, according to the release.
Detectives seized a cellphone, a bag with numerous blue pills believed to contain fentanyl, drug paraphernalia, a small bag with multicolored pills and Narcan in the gas station garbage can.
Inside the Yukon, detectives seized a large amount of blue pills believed to contain fentanyl, two pistol magazines, ammunition, a holster, a scale and other smaller amounts of controlled substances and paraphernalia.
Detectives continue to investigate, and additional charges and/or arrests are possible.
McCullough made his first appearance Friday in Superior Court and is scheduled for an arraignment Tuesday. He is in the Spokane County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
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