Man wanted in killings shoots himself

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — A man sought for questioning after a double homicide in Washington killed a truck driver early Monday before fatally shooting himself a few hours later, the Klamath County district attorney’s office said.

Brian Pennington, 44, of Lacey, Wash., was found dead behind Mollies, a Klamath Falls truck stop. District Attorney Ed Caleb said police had assembled there after learning that Pennington was wanted after the twin killings in Olympia.

“Here comes this guy rolling into the parking lot,” said Ed Caleb, the Klamath County district attorney. “The car went behind Mollies and rolled to a stop.”

Police waited two hours before approaching the car, which contained Pennington and a dog. When deputies reached the window, they found Pennington dead with a gunshot wound to the chest. The dog was OK, Caleb said.

“I think maybe when he saw the police he knew it was over,” Caleb said. “Obviously we’re not talking about a rational person.”

Earlier Monday, an Oregon Department of Transportation worker found Pennington in a car that was stuck in a snowstorm. The worker noted the license number and called a tow truck.

Pennington allegedly shot the tow truck driver, Marvin Erickson, 67, of Chemult. Motorists later spotted Erickson’s body lying in the middle of Highway 97 and called the authorities.

The police, after getting the license number from ODOT, discovered that Pennington was wanted for questioning in a double homicide this weekend in Olympia.

Caleb said the shells left behind on Highway 97 were consistent with the gun Pennington used to commit suicide.

“Police said the bullet he used on himself was the last one he had,” Caleb said. “It has some kind of bizarre symbolism to it, I guess.”

Erickson ran a one-man towing operation out of a Shell station in Chemult, a small town in Southern Oregon. He leaves behind a wife and grown children, according to Larry Mitchell, 50, who works for a rival towing company and said he had known Erickson for at least 20 years.

“Senseless violence. Dumb, dumb stuff,” Mitchell said.

“He was the best one-man towing operation I’ve seen, and I’ve been in the business a long time,” he said. “All I’ve ever known him to do is work hard and try to make an honest buck. He was so much better than me. I was generally in awe of him.”

Caleb said the bodies found in an Olympia home this weekend were those of Pennington’s current roommate and a former roommate. Olympia Police Cmdr. Tor Bjornstad said the injuries were not consistent with suicide, there were no signs of forced entry or burglary, and no weapon was found.

A neighbor said she heard two or three gunshots late Saturday.