Shooting victim a bully, acquaintances say

A woman who says she knows Philip Jerome “Jeb” Strong, the suspect in an April 3 killing near Curlew, says he was afraid he would be the first to die.

“He told me that he was really scared” of victim Trent V. Irby, said Linda Kyle, adding that Strong was so convinced his death was imminent that he’d given her the titles to his vehicles.

Another of the suspect’s friends, Melinda Jarrett, said Irby was widely considered a bully around town. Jarrett said she had allowed Irby to stay in a trailer on her property but was trying to get him to leave. She also said that, contrary to earlier reports, Strong and Irby were not roommates.

Irby, 37, was fired a year ago from his job at Beaver Built Construction “because of behavioral issues,” said co-owner Gretchen Halbach. “I don’t think he got along with people anywhere,” she said.

In the weeks before the shooting, Jarrett said, Irby had been harassing Strong, whom she described as a recluse.

Strong eventually snapped, Jarrett said.

Police had said in an affidavit last week that Strong entered Irby’s home and asked him if he was “ready to die.”

Irby responded, “Bring it on,” and was shot once in the chest and again in the back by Strong, the court records say.

Ferry County sheriff’s Detective Tom Williams said the investigation is ongoing and he couldn’t discuss the details.

“At this point we’re still gathering information, and I’m still in the process of trying to piece it all together myself,” Williams said.

He did confirm that Strong and Irby were not roommates as earlier reported.

Strong, 59, was arrested last week and faces a first-degree murder charge.