Two Chehalis men accused of a drive-by shooting in the Centralia Safeway parking lot on Feb. 13 made preliminary appearances in Lewis County Superior Court Tuesday.
Nickolas Holmgren, 21, and Zackary Sells, 20, both face one count each of first-degree assault and drive-by shooting for the alleged incident that involved a botched marijuana deal with a group of juveniles.
Holmgren faces an additional count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Of the charges, first-degree assault carries the greatest potential punishment of up to life in prison. Drive-by shooting is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
According to court documents, Holmgren is alleged to have fired the handgun.
During the hearing, Judge Joely Yeager maintained the $1 million bail set for both defendants over the weekend, noting the allegations posed a significant threat to community safety.
The judge also entered three anti-harassment no-contact orders on behalf of the victims, along with orders to surrender any weapons.
Holmgren has felony convictions for past offenses including eluding, third-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm — all within the last five years — along with six prior warrants, including one that was active at the time of arrest, according to court documents.
Holmgren is set to be represented by Albert Didcock, though Rachael Tiller, Holmgren’s attorney for the day, indicated another attorney may be assigned due to potential scheduling conflicts.
Sells will look to retain private counsel. According to Tiller, he was supported by nine people in the gallery during the hearing. Court documents indicate he has no criminal history.
Both defendants are scheduled for arraignments on Feb. 19.
The shooting
The probable cause affidavit filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office describes the investigation from the perspective of law enforcement.
The case began when a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office sergeant conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle near Interstate 5 and found that one of the three juvenile occupants had been shot.
According to a news release from the Centralia Police Department, “the passenger was transported to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.”
After learning the alleged shooting had taken place in the Safeway parking lot in Centralia, Centralia police spoke with the three juveniles. A detective learned one of the juveniles had allegedly set up an attempted marijuana buy using Snapchat.
According to the juvenile, the dealer — known as Nick — insisted on meeting in Centralia, so they agreed to meet at the Safeway off Harrison Avenue.
The two parties arrived in the parking lot, with the dealer’s vehicle reportedly pulling next to the juveniles’ vehicle, but facing in the opposite direction. Nick was the passenger.
The buyer told police he showed Nick the money. Then he and another juvenile passenger exited their vehicle after Nick said the drugs were in the back of Nick’s vehicle.
At that point, the other juvenile reportedly recognized Nick as the boyfriend of a girl with whom “he had had relations,” according to the affidavit.
According to the juveniles, Nick showed a firearm as they approached, causing the boys to run back to their vehicle.
As the female juvenile driver drove away, “Nick raised the firearm and shot at the vehicle, entering around the rear quarter panel,” the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, the bullet grazed the side of the head of the juvenile who had recognized Nick. He reportedly received several stitches at the hospital.
Back at the scene, police allegedly found a “single spent shell casing from a 9mm round on the ground,” according to the affidavit.
Identifying the suspects
Police used Flock Safety cameras to determine the shooter’s vehicle was registered to Sells.
“A check of his (state Department of Licensing) photo showed he matched the description of the driver inside the vehicle described by the juveniles,” the affidavit states.
Police detained Sells at his home, according to the affidavit.
Speaking with Sells’s mother, police reportedly learned that Sells had been with Holmgren. The mother also provided location data allegedly placing Sells at the scene during the shooting.
According to the affidavit, the juveniles reportedly identified Holmgren as the shooter when presented with a photomontage.
Juvenile booked in detention center
The Chronicle previously reported that a 17-year-old boy from Tumwater was booked into Lewis County Juvenile Detention in connection with the shooting.
In its news release, the Centralia Police Department indicated the juveniles had planned to “rob the dealer” prior to the shooting and said a witness to the incident had seen the injured juvenile brandishing his own firearm before the shooting occurred.
“The juvenile then threw his firearm out of the vehicle when officers conducted a traffic stop,” the release states.
K9 Havik later recovered the gun, according to police.
No mention is made of either the alleged plan to rob the dealer or the juvenile’s brandishing of his firearm in the probable cause affidavits filed against Holmgren and Sells.
Attempted standoff
The Chronicle previously reported what had appeared to be a related standoff in Chehalis Saturday morning, Feb. 14. At the scene, The Chronicle learned the standoff was part of the investigators’ search for suspects.
Due to the large law enforcement response — which included personnel from the sheriff’s office, Washington State Patrol SWAT, and the Chehalis and Centralia police departments — Lewis County Emergency Management issued a shelter-in-place order for residents near Southwest Grandview Avenue and Southwest Kelly Avenue.
Law enforcement stationed themselves outside the home for several hours, before deploying flash bangs in an attempt to draw the occupants out. The SWAT team then breached a window of the residence using an armored vehicle, but did not locate any suspects.
Following the attempted standoff, police arrested Holmgren during a traffic stop in Centralia at approximately 3:30 p.m. later that day.
