19-year-old arrested on murder, assault charges for two Spokane shootings on same day

A 19-year-old man is accused of pulling the trigger in two shootings that left one person dead and two injured Wednesday in Spokane.

Abraham Evaristo-Valderas was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault for the north Spokane and downtown shootings.

The first shooting was reported shortly after 3 a.m. in an alley south of De Leon Foods off Francis Avenue, a few blocks east of Division Street, according to court documents. The second shooting was shortly before 8 p.m. on State Street and Pacific Avenue.

Evaristo-Valderas confessed to using the same pistol in both shootings, documents say.

In the first shooing, officers found 32-year-old Devin Rowden with gunshot injuries, court records show. Rowden was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he died.

Another man, 24-year-old Saxxon McKinney, was taken by a friend to Providence Holy Family Hospital for a gunshot wound.

Two witnesses who were in makeshift shelters in the alleyway told police they heard arguing and a fight outside the shelters, and then gunshots rang out.

One of the witnesses said she saw people flee and Rowden, who she described as a “good guy,” was injured.

McKinney told police he and a friend drove down the alley on their way to a friend’s apartment and he noticed a large group of people at a homeless camp. He spotted a friend, Rowden, as they passed and stopped to say hi.

While McKinney spoke with Rowden, a man, later identified as Evaristo-Valderas, started arguing with them, and the defendant and McKinney threw punches, McKinney told police. Evaristo-Valderas fell to the ground.

While standing over the defendant, McKinney told police he heard gunshots and saw the man shooting. He felt the gunshot to his upper left leg and saw people running.

McKinney got into the car with his friend and the two went to Holy Family Hospital. He told police he did not know Evaristo-Valderas.

Another witness told police McKinney showed up to his nearby residence with a gunshot wound to his leg, and that McKinney told him “Abraham Valderas” shot him.

Police found seven spent .380 caliber shell casings in the alley, according to documents.

Evaristo-Valderas later told police he felt he was getting jumped and believed Saxxon wanted to steal his gun.

While on the ground during the fight, he shot three times with his gun in his front hoodie pouch before pulling the gun out and continuing to shoot, Evaristo-Valderas told police. He claimed self-defense, and that he and Rowden were friends.

He also admitted to seeing Saxxon leaving the hospital on crutches and waving at him, documents say.

About 17 hours after the first shooting, multiple people reported a man was shot and lying in the street at State and Pacific, and the shooter, wearing a black hoodie, ran north on Division Street, according to documents.

Wesley Coward, 24, was shot twice in the abdomen and torso, and taken to Sacred Heart. His status was unclear Friday.

An officer noticed a man with a black hoodie “briskly” walking north on Division Street, according to documents. The officer said in court documents the man appeared to have seen his patrol car, put his hood up and started to walk east on a path along East Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

The officer told the man to stop, but Evaristo-Valderas continued walking, dropping what was later determined to be a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol into a bush. Officers eventually arrested Evaristo-Valderas.

Evaristo-Valderas, who had a warrant for his arrest, told police Coward, who he had known for a couple of months, came after him, and he told Coward to back off. He said Coward then said something like, “What are you going to do? Shoot me? Go ahead, shoot me.”

Evaristo-Valderas told detectives he was angry and “seeing red,” and that he needed to uphold his pride because Coward challenged him. Evaristo-Valderas said he fired two rounds at Coward before fleeing.

He said he let Coward hold his pistol before they ended up getting into a confrontation, documents say. He admitted Coward did not have a weapon and that Coward never assaulted him.

Police found two .380 shell casings at the scene. He told detectives he knew the gun was stolen when he purchased it.

Evaristo-Valderas told detectives he gets psychosis and hears voices when he is on drugs.

During a police transport Wednesday night, Evaristo-Valderas started sweating heavily and slurring his speech, according to documents. He claimed he swallowed two fentanyl pills when police made contact with him after the second shooting. He was taken by ambulance to Holy Family Hospital before being released.

He was later booked into the Spokane County Jail.

He made his first appearance in Spokane County District Court Friday and remained in jail Friday night on a little over $1 million bond. He also faces a first-degree robbery charge for an unrelated incident this summer.