25-year-old sentenced to prison for killing man who went to check on friend’s apartment

A 25-year-old man initially charged with murder pleaded guilty Friday as part of a plea agreement to second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of 27-year-old Anthony Brown last summer at a north Spokane apartment.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren sentenced Wyatt F. Comer to 6½ years in prison for the June 25, 2024, shooting outside the Serrano South apartments on East Wedgewood Avenue, according to court documents.

Brown and a group of friends went to check on an acquaintance’s apartment while the tenant was out of town, according to court documents. Brown couldn’t get into the apartment with the key, but he heard a man’s voice inside, so he knocked on the door and told them to leave.

A woman told police the door then flew open and Brown pushed his way inside. A witness heard two or three gunshots and watched a man and a woman run out of the apartment, according to court records.

Bystanders ran to Brown and tried to stop the bleeding from the gunshot wound, but he died at the scene.

Police searched the apartment, found Comer’s backpack, tracked his car and arrested him.

According to court records, Comer told his family that he shot someone. Comer also told a friend he needed help getting his gun he tossed in a dumpster, but the friend refused to do so.

The 77-month prison sentence was the low end of the standard sentence range, according to documents. The high end was 8½ years. Comer has been in jail since his June 2024 arrest and will receive credit for time served.

Comer’s criminal history includes firearm, drug, stolen property, assault and vehicle theft convictions – all in Spokane County.

He will serve 18 years of probation after his release from prison.