Murder charge dropped in Millwood Safeway parking lot shooting

A 43-year-old man accused of shooting and killing 53-year-old William McCreight last fall in a Millwood Safeway parking lot acted in self-defense and will not face a murder charge, according to Preston McCollam, Spokane County chief criminal deputy prosecutor.
McCollam said the prosecutor’s office dropped the second-degree murder charge against Johnathan M. Bryman in light of new evidence investigators found in McCreight’s cellphone.
McCollam said McCreight was also armed with a realistic-looking handgun, identified as a silver BB gun in court documents, and a “makeshift knife” strapped to his wrist.
“This office takes all crimes of violence seriously, especially allegations of murder,” McCollam wrote in an email. “That said the principles of self-defense are a cornerstone of our law and should never be ignored when analyzing the facts of a case. Especially at a time when law enforcement is grossly under-resourced and citizens are increasingly called upon to defend themselves from violent intrusions into their lives.”
Bryman and McCreight met for a possible drug deal the morning of Oct. 12 in the store parking lot on Trent Avenue and Argonne Road, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.
McCollam said text messages found on McCreight’s phone indicated McCreight made arrangements to sell drugs to Bryman and/or Bryman’s passenger.
At some point, Bryman pulled out a handgun and shot McCreight, who died at the scene, multiple times before fleeing the parking lot in his vehicle, the sheriff’s said.
McCollam said text messages recovered from McCreight’s phone indicated he was trying to solicit others to help him rob Bryman.
McCreight and Bryman appeared to have left the Maverik gas station on Pines Road, a couple of blocks north of Interstate 90, to Safeway in separate cars about 15 minutes before the shooting, according to court documents.
At Safeway, McCreight was texting on his phone for a minute before getting out of the car, a woman who was with McCreight told police. She said McCreight told her he had to talk to his friend and told her to stay in the car.
She believed the friend was the same one McCreight had been messaging. She was sitting in McCreight’s Ford texting on her phone when she heard a man shout, followed by the sound of four gunshots, she told police.
Safeway surveillance showed Bryman getting out of his Chevy Camaro and walking into the store at about 6:10 a.m., documents say. McCreight was seen in the footage moving around Bryman’s Camaro, and the Camaro’s taillights began flashing as though the car alarm had been activated, a detective wrote in documents.
Bryman purchased aluminum foil at a Safeway self-checkout register and exited the store at about 6:13 a.m. McCreight met Bryman in the parking lot, walked with him toward the Camaro and stood near the back of the car where they appeared to have a conversation, the camera footage shows.
At about 6:14 a.m., McCreight dropped to the ground and Bryman got into the Camaro and left the parking lot.
Bryman was arrested two days after the shooting at a Hayden residence, the sheriff’s office said. He had two firearms on him when he was arrested. He is a convicted felon out of Idaho for two counts of aggravated assault and one count of domestic battery, according to documents.
Bryman was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm related to the shooting, McCollam said.
He pleaded guilty to that charge, and the murder charge was dismissed Jan. 13, according to court records. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Rachelle Anderson sentenced Bryman to three months in jail. He was given credit for time served and released from jail.
Bryman was booked Monday into the Kootenai County Jail on unlawful possession of firearm charges, according to the jail roster. Those charges were filed last month in Kootenai County, according to the Idaho Court Portal.