KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. — A suspect is under arrest on suspicion of manslaughter from a 2023 shooting that the suspect claimed was an accident.
On September 23, 2023, deputies from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) were investigating a car crash near the intersection of Tracyton Boulevard Northwest and Norwest Selbo Road near Silverdale when they found 25-year-old Bradley Smith dead from a gunshot.
The suspect, who was a passenger in the car, told deputies that Smith had accidentally shot himself.
After the investigation was completed, detectives determined that the gunshot was not accidental.
Using forensics testing and details from the investigation, detectives had enough to have the passenger arrested.
The 23-year-old man was booked into Kitsap County Jail on September 30, 2024, on suspicion of first-degree manslaughter.
The suspect had his initial court appearance on Tuesday.