SNOHOMISH — The man accused of a violent rampage in the North Sound appeared virtually in a Snohomish County court Friday.
Court documents detail the horrific moments police say Gilbert Escamilla spent inside the Edmonds home while a woman inside begged for help. More than 24 hours later, police are still combing through the home in search of evidence.
Snohomish County prosecutors asked Escamilla’s bail to be set at $5 million dollars after listing his possible charges.
“State is going to ask you to find probable cause for the crimes of 1st-degree murder, 2nd-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, attempting to elude police, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree,” said the Snohomish County prosecutor in the courtroom.
Court documents show that a violent morning began in Marysville around 4 a.m. They accuse Escamilla of shooting a man at the Twin Lakes Landing Apartments.
Documents said Escamilla shot the man twice, then after he fell, Escamilla reshot him, execution style.
People living near the second crime scene were jerked awake around 7 a.m.
“You’re just coming out of your sleep and it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, my God, what was that sound?’ I heard maybe three and then two gunshots,” said one Edmonds man.
Those gunshots, per the court documents, were the sounds of a 68-year-old grandma being killed in the home and her son fighting with Escamilla, trying to keep him from getting further inside the home. That man’s wife was the woman frantic on the phone with 911, calling for help.
“When we heard the ‘help’ that’s why we stood up. That’s why I looked out my window. Like I said, it was ‘help’ and then it seemed shortly after the car was backing out. I started hearing sirens and stuff,” said the Edmonds man.
Court documents say Escamilla shot the 32-year-old woman in the head while she was on the phone with 911. That happened while her 4-year-old and 7-year-old hid in closets, listening to the gunshots.
“I can look from my bedroom and look over there, you see it. You still think about it,” the neighbor said.
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said as of now, there’s no connection between Escamilla and the Edmonds family who immigrated from Russia several years ago. The 32-year-old woman also told the 911 operator she didn’t know who Escamilla was. Police caught Escamilla Thursday morning, after a short chase in one of those victims’ cars.
“Like I said we’re a tight-knit community, even the next street over. So for something like that to happen randomly like that and as isolated as they seem that just seems impossible,” said John, another man who lives in Edmonds.
As of Friday, the couple who were shot in Edmonds are still in critical condition.
Court documents also said Escamilla told investigators after his arrest that he was detoxing and needed methadone. Those same documents also said he and his clothes had gunshot residue, glass, and blood on them.
Prosecutors have 72 hours to file charges.
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