$500,000 bail set for Moses Lake park shooting suspect

MOSES LAKE — One of two suspects arrested in a Sunday night shooting in Moses Lake had his bail set at $500,000 on Wednesday.

Grant County prosecutors charged Zachary Skone, 20, of Warden, in Grant County Superior Court with first-degree assault (firearm or deadly weapon) and first-degree robbery. Citing Skone’s recent felony history and the danger she says he potentially poses to the public, Deputy Prosecutor Anna Gigliotti requested bail be set at $500,000. Grant County Superior Court Judge David Estudillo agreed with the recommendation and set Skone’s bail at $500,000.

Skone’s charges and bail stem from a Sunday night incident at Montlake Park in Moses Lake. About 7:45 p.m. Moses Lake police were made aware of the shooting after the 18-year-old male victim was brought to Samaritan Hospital in a private vehicle.

The victim’s girlfriend told an MLPD detective they had agreed to meet a 17-year-old boy at Montlake Park. The witness described pulling into the park and spotting a white, single-cab pickup truck. The victim reportedly got out to contact the 17-year-old, at which time his girlfriend says “someone came out of the bushes and shot multiple times,” according to court documents.

The witness said between eight and 10 shots were fired and after the shooting ended, the teen boy and “the shooter” hopped into the white pickup and took off. In an interview with a MLPD detective, the shooting victim said he was certain he had met the 17-year-old suspect at Montlake Park. He said that he did not know who shot him. When asked about her boyfriend having enemies, the witness said the victim has borrowed money from people in the past and not paid it back.

In a later statement, the witness said the shooting victim confessed to her that he went to Montlake Park to sell prescription codeine syrup. Court documents indicate a .22 caliber rifle was in the vehicle the victim was brought to the hospital in. The victim’s stepfather told police the rifle was a birthday gift from several years ago.

Police attempted to contact the 17-year-old boy the victim was meeting with, but were not able to locate him at his residence. Skone was reportedly contacted by officers Jan. 13 and is known to drive a truck similar to the vehicle that was spotted at Montlake Park.

Skone was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Monday and interviewed by police. He claimed on Sunday he went on a snowmobiling trip with his family to Cle Elum and they got back between 9 and 9:30 p.m. that night. Skone admitted to having prior communication via social media with the 17-year-old boy the victim met at the park.

Skone’s statement differed from one given to police by one of his family members, who said they got back from the snowmobile trip at about 6 p.m. Sunday night. The family member says Skone said he was going to take the white truck to a friend’s house in Moses Lake and he came home later that night.

In another interview with police Skone’s story changed. He claimed he took the white truck to Moses Lake to visit a friend. Skone was confronted with a screenshot from the victim’s phone, which reportedly shows a message from the second suspect that “showed a picture of the dashboard of Skone’s truck in the area of the shooting. The context was a conversation about (the victim) selling (the second suspect) a bottle of prescription codeine cough syrup.”

GPS coordinates from Skone’s phone reportedly indicate he was at the shooting. Skone claimed he left his phone in his truck, which, he says, was borrowed by the second suspect. Skone reportedly said the victim is known for not paying people and the second suspect was going to give him “what he had coming to him.”

On Tuesday Skone admitted to being at the park during the shooting and said he shot the victim one time, after which, he says, the second suspect took the revolver from him and shot the victim multiple times. The second suspect has not been caught.