RICHLAND, Wash. — Probable cause documents for suspect Michael Reep reveal the timeline suggested by the Richland Police Department regarding the McMurray St shooting on January 26. Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Julie Long approved Reep’s arrest based on the information filed by RPD Detective Cameron Fancher.
Fancher reports that the home on McMurray St was inhabited by 29-year-old Reep, his girlfriend, 29-year-old Lara Garcia and the homeowner’s son, just before the shooting. Two other people lived there that were not home for the incident. The homeowner’s son had been sleeping in the living room when two men knocked on the door at around 10:30 a.m., according to the probable cause documents.
He didn’t know the men at the door, who were later identified as Jarrod Yockey and Dustin Nelson. They reportedly asked for a phone charger, saying their car broke down and they needed to make a call. The homeowner’s son said he didn’t feel comfortable letting in people he didn’t know and shut the door, according to his interview with investigators.
He then went downstairs to tell Reep about the men, as he had moved back to his father’s home less than a week before this occurred. According to the interviews, Reep then spoke with the two men through a window, but it’s not known what they said.
At this time, the rollup garage door was left open because it was broken, according to the probable cause documents. The two men reportedly went inside the garage after the conversation with Reep and started banging on the door that leads inside. The homeowner’s son reported he then unlocked and opened this door.
It is reported that Yockey then stepped inside the house, grabbed the homeowner’s son and pulled him back, so he fell and landed on his back in the garage. The son said Yockey then got on top of him and started punching him. He was treated for stitches and a concussion while at the hospital later.
During the assault, the homeowner’s son reported seeing the other man, Nelson, then came back to the garage, along with a female, identified as Thomascine McEachern. They started “grabbing items to take,” according to the probable cause documents.
Still during the assault, the son said he saw Reep come up behind Yockey with a pistol. He reports hearing a gunshot and seeing blood when Yockey stopped assaulting him. Yockey reportedly “rolled off” of the son, then died in the garage. An autopsy confirmed he had been shot in the chest.
The homeowner’s son said he then got up and ran back inside, seeing Garcia enter the garage as he left. He reports seeing Garcia shoot McEachern before Garcia and Reep eventually drove away from the home.
The son told investigators that a security camera had been installed in the garage and one had been installed outside the home. He said the system to see the cameras was in Garcia and Reep’s downstairs bedroom. According to Fancher, a search warrant was served on the home, revealing the cameras and system had been removed. RPD says it is “more likely than not” that Reep or Garcia removed the security system.
Investigators found a separate security system had been set up in just their bedroom, according to the probable cause documents. Video from this system shows Reep’s conversation through the window, where they reportedly admit to being in a pursuit and having a stolen gun. Five gunshots are also heard later in the video.
McEachern and Nelson both left the residence with gunshot wounds; it is later clarified that Garcia shot Nelson as well. They flagged down someone to call 9-1-1 and were taken to the hospital, but their current condition is not known. The homeowner’s son also left the house and was treated at the hospital.
Fancher reports that Reep has five previous nonviolent felonies and was out on a bench warrant at the time of the McMurray St shooting. Garcia has been arrested and faces two second-degree assault charges. Reep evaded arrest on February 1 and is considered on the run, armed and dangerous.
