Second suspect arrested in connection to 2023 fatal shooting outside Spokane Valley Jack in the Box

Police have arrested a second suspect in a 2023 shooting outside a Spokane Valley Jack in the Box that left one dead.

Kenneth Griffey, 44, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Monday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and rendering criminal assistance. Police say Griffey knew his friend, Jason Barton, was going to kill 41-year-old Dennis M. Vezina outside the restaurant that day and communicated with him following the shooting, according to court documents.

Vezina and his girlfriend, Stephanie Unangst, were sitting in the northwest corner of the restaurant’s parking lot at about 3:20 p.m. on Sept. 2 when she heard a gunshot and saw a man she knew as “Jason” leave the area on a bicycle, she told police.

When she turned around, she couldn’t find her boyfriend, according to court documents.

Deputies responded to the Jack in the Box just before 3:40 p.m. after Vezina walked into the lobby with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was pronounced dead at 4:01 p.m.

After talking to Vezina’s girlfriend, deputies searched a law enforcement database for a “Jason” living in the area. They discovered a Jason Barton who lived on the 2300 block of Hutchinson Road near the restaurant.

Surveillance video from a nearby home shows a man matching Barton’s description riding a bicycle up to the dumpster area and getting off his bike.

Vezina emerged and began running away from Barton. That’s when Barton lifted his arm into a horizontal position and a gunshot could be heard, according to court documents.

Detectives obtained Barton’s phone records and found text messages between him and Griffey that showed Griffey telling Barton to “be careful” before riding his bike to the Jack in the Box. After the shooting, Griffey drove to Barton’s house to collect a backpack with a firearm in it, court documents said.

After leaving Barton’s home, Griffey texted him, “Whaambulance inbound.” Detectives spoke to Griffey the following day, and he told police he did not know about the shooting, according to court documents.

Barton, 47, remains in the Spokane County Jail on a $1 million bond for murder and unlawful possession of a firearm charges. He is set for trial starting July 22.