SPOKANE, Wash. -- Investigators believe they found the weapon used in a drive-by shooting that injured two EWU football players July 13 after identifying a third suspect.
Avery K. Francis, 26, and Anthony J. Carell, 27, were arrested Aug. 22 for two counts of attempted first degree murder and two counts of drive by shooting. They pleaded not guilty in court Aug. 20.
A third suspect was identified and arrested on July 22 after a fight in Downtown Spokane, according to court documents filed Wednesday. KREM 2 is not identifying the suspect due to the ongoing investigation.
He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree after a 9mm pistol was found in his pants pocket, according to court documents. Investigators wrote in court documents that this was the same caliber of weapon used in the shooting of the EWU players.
Investigators wrote in court documents that they also saw the third suspect on surveillance video.
Clothing that matched the descriptions provided by witnesses and seen on surveillance video were found at both Carell and Francis' homes, according to court documents. Investigators were still searching for 9mm bullet casings after finding two at the original scene, according to court documents.
Investigators filed a search warrant to test the gun for DNA on Wednesday.
It started when three suspects approached a woman and her boyfriend on Main and Division, according to court documents. Video outside a nearby bar showed Carell grabbing the woman; the man she was with described the action as "groping," to investigators, according to court documents.
The man became upset and Carell punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground, according to court documents. Then the two EWU Football players walked over to them and broke up the fight, according to court documents.
One of the victims said that after he and the other victim broke up the fight, the suspects yelled out things like "yeah alright," and "alright bet," as they walked away, according to court documents. The victim felt they were threatening claimed he "knew it was going to happen," and that the suspects "definitely had guns," according to court documents.
The victim and several witnesses identified the suspect vehicle as a 2002 to 2006 white Ford Explorer, according to court documents. One witness stated he saw the car go about 20 miles-per-hour on Division when it came to a sudden halt and struck the curb, according to court documents.
Surveillance video showed the suspect vehicle wait for traffic to clear and the northbound traffic light to turn green before deliberately and intentionally driving toward the victims, according to court documents.
The witness said he saw the passenger fire a gun out the window and the car sped away, according to court documents. The victim said he saw the suspects drive by and yell, "hey you," before firing at them seven to nine times out of the passenger side, according to court documents.
One victim was shot in the chest and the other was shot in the neck, according to court documents.
Investigators identified Carell and Francis as suspects after matching the car in surveillance video to Carell's during a traffic stop a little over a week after the shooting, according to court documents. The detective working this case also worked as the lead investigator on a case where Carell was the victim of a 2015 drive-by shooting.
Officers arrested Francis at the address Carell admitted to be living at, according to court documents. Carell also admitted to being in the downtown area around the time of the shooting, and that he was driving the car witnesses identified that night, but he denied anyone shot out of his car, according to court documents.
The Spokane County Jail roster says Francis and Carell's bonds have been set at $500,000.
Spokane Police Sergeant Terry Preuniger said in a press release that both suspects were taken into custody in Spokane with the help of the SPD Police Anti-Crime teams and detectives from the Targeted Crimes Unit.
A Spokane police Major Crimes detective who was working the case obtained warrants for Francis and Carell on Thursday.
Preuniger said Francis has previous felony convictions for second -degree robbery, witness tampering and second-degree assault along with multiple other arrests. Carell also has previous felony convictions of second-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment and is a registered sex offender. Preuniger said he also has multiple other arrests.
Preuniger said they spent hours after the arrest serving search warrants at multiple locations associated with the suspects.
According to Spokane Police, EWU players Dehonta Hayes and Keith Moore were injured near the intersection of Division and Main on the edge of downtown Spokane. The area is home to several popular bars and is often crowded on weekend evenings.
Moore and Hayes were both transported to a local hospital with serious injuries, but are expected to fully recover.
Both Hayes and Moore are listed on Eastern's preseason depth chart as projected starters for the 2019 season. Moore is a defensive tackle for the Eagles and Hayes is a safety.