Man faces additional charges in fatal shooting of deputy
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — A man accused of killing a sheriff’s deputy in southwestern Washington is facing additional charges in connection with the 2021 shooting.
Guillermo Raya Leon of Salem, Oregon, was arraigned in Clark County Superior Court Thursday on amended information in the death of Clark County sheriff’s Sgt. Jeremy Brown, The Columbian reported.
Raya Leon pleaded not guilty Thursday to possession of a stolen firearm, trafficking in stolen property, burglary and motor vehicle theft. He previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree aggravated murder and another count of possession of a stolen firearm.
His trial is scheduled for late October.
Investigators have said that Raya Leon admitted to shooting Brown, 46, while the detective was seated in an unmarked police SUV at an east Vancouver apartment complex on July 23, 2021.
Detectives were following Raya Leon, his brother, Abran Raya Leon and his brother’s wife, Misty Raya that day as part of an investigation into the theft of dozens of firearms and thousands of ammunition rounds from a Hazel Dell storage unit.
Court records say Misty Raya’s friend, Lani Kraabell, was helping them find buyers for the stolen guns when Guillermo Raya Leon shot Brown.
Kraabell pleaded guilty June 10 to second-degree manslaughter in connection with Brown’s death and agreed to cooperate with the criminal cases against her co-defendants. She was sentenced to six years in prison.
