Spokane police seek warrant in 2012 shooting death

Spokane police detectives say they have solved a December 2012 homicide and want to bring a suspect now held in a Florida federal prison to Spokane to face a murder charge.

Bud Ray Brown, 31, is accused of shooting David Brandon Deponte, 28, multiple times in the head in a dispute involving a woman, police said.

Deponte’s body was found in a pool of blood in an alley off the 2000 block of West Bridge Avenue.

Deponte was a high school dropout with a long criminal history in Whitman and Spokane counties.

In 2010, he was found guilty of smashing the car of an acquaintance with a hammer and damaging a police car by thrashing around during his ride to jail. He also had a conviction for rioting, which netted him a 169-day jail sentence.

Detectives said they followed a trail of associates to develop the case against Brown, who had since been incarcerated in a federal prison at Coleman, Florida, on a firearms charge.

Detectives said they were seeking an arrest warrant for murder and would work with authorities in Florida to have Brown brought back to Spokane to face the new charge.

Police also are searching for Alicia C. Sweet, 28, of Spokane, on suspicion that she helped Brown after the shooting death.

Police said they have recovered a firearm used to kill Deponte.

Part of the investigation took detectives to Yakima for interviews.

A friend of Deponte’s said at the time of his death that he was a loving person. He was known by his middle name of Brandon.