JBLM soldier accused in fatal Gorge shooting claims he was hallucinating on mushrooms

New court documents released Wednesday detail how a suspected shooter at the Gorge campground may have been hallucinating on psychedelic mushrooms at the time of the incident.

The suspect was identified this week as 26-year-old Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier James Kelly. Kelly is accused of fatally shooting Josilyn Ruiz, 26, and her partner Brandy Escamilla, 29, of Seattle. Both women were pronounced dead at the scene.

Kelly is also accused of shooting and injuring Andrew Cuadra, 31, of Eugene, Oregon, and Lily Luksich, 20, of Mill Creek. According to documents, Luksich was his girlfriend, and the two had traveled to Beyond Wonderland festival together.

Kelly told police that he took a dose of mushrooms on Saturday evening. As he and Luksich were on their way into the festival, he said he “began to feel the effects” of the drug and was hallucinating.

He then “began to believe that the world was ending and that he needed to return to his camp immediately with Luksich.”

The two “hurried back” to their campsite, where Kelly went on got his handgun from a locked box he had stored in the center console of his truck, before loading a magazine and stepping out from the vehicle with the weapon in his hand.

Court documents go on to detail how Kelly shot and killed Ruiz and Escamilla after the couple had inadvertently crossed paths with him. Cuadra had heard the sound of shots being fired, and after approaching Kelly was shot in the upper torso.

Kelly left the area near his truck while Luksich called 911 and followed behind him. As Crowd Management Services employee Lori Williams approached in a vehicle after hearing reports of the shooting, Kelly fired at her, shattering the glass of the vehicle and cutting her face.

From there, Kelly and Luksich moved into a neighboring field, where Kelly fired at a Grant County Sheriff’s Office drone which had been dispatched to respond to the shooting.

As Kelly and Luksich continued along a fence line, he shot Luksich in the foot and the upper leg, causing “permanent injuries.”

Kelly was then shot by a police officer and was transported to a hospital in Spokane in police custody.

Luksich’s family has set up a GoFundMe for her recovery.

Kelly is now being held in Grant County jail and faces charges for two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and one count of domestic violence assault. Kelly was in court on Wednesday but did not enter a plea, and is being held without bail. He’ll be due back in court on July 5.

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