A 42-year-old man accused of shooting another man to death and evading Lacey police last week is being held in Thurston County jail without bail.
Scott Matthew Brodrick attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Monday. Lacey police tracked down and arrested him Friday at a fast-food restaurant parking lot on Quinault Drive Northeast.
The arrest came four days after police responded to a call about shots fired at a home on the 5500 block of Chelan Lane Southeast in Lacey. Police arrived to find Brian Fraley, 43, dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
On Thursday, prosecutors charged Brodrick with first-degree premeditated murder while armed with a firearm and Judge Carol Murphy authorized a warrant for his arrest.
During his Monday appearance, Judge John Skinder ordered Brodrick be held without bail. In doing so, he determined Brodrick had a propensity for violence. Skinder said he was concerned about whether Brodrick would reappear in court or interfere with the case if released.
"I am extremely concerned about these allegations..." Skinder said. "The concern I have in this case is that propensity. I think the state has shown it by clear and convincing evidence based upon the allegations."
Before issuing the court's order, Skinder heard testimony from a few of Fraley's sisters.
Fraley lived with his 84-year-old father. Dena Larson said she saw her father's Ring camera footage in real time during the incident. She said it captured Brodrick walking toward Fraley's residence with a rifle and the sound of four gunshots.
"I had to call my father and asked him to lock his doors and to call 911 because my brother had just been shot," Larson said.
"I watched Mr. Brodrick walk up with the gun under the towel. I saw his black gloves. I saw the butt of the gun. I heard the shots, all four of them. That's something I can't get out of my head."
Deneise Kopetzky said her family is now afraid for her father's safety and want Brodrick held in jail.
"I can't even in my wildest imagination understand how a person could do that to another human being," Kopetzky said.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Elizabeth McMullen asked for the no-bail hold. She based this request on the severity of the crime and Brodrick's actions after.
"Mr. Brodrick contacted a number of individuals and received assistance in this community to avoid contact with law enforcement," McMullen said.
Matthew Kellegrew, Brodrick's public defense attorney, asked Skinder not to find that Brodrick has a propensity for violence. He said Brodrick is a veteran who served in Iraq and has no prior criminal convictions.
"I would encourage the court to look at Mr. Brodrick's record and look to his past actions when determining what he has a propensity towards in the future ... and to set bail in this matter proportionate to the charges alleged and Mr. Brodrick's financial status," Kellegrew said.
Brodrick has a pending warrant in Lewis County Superior Court for a drug-related case.
The investigation
A probable cause statement and other court records detail the investigation into the alleged homicide from the perspective of law enforcement.
Lacey police responded to the home the morning of Aug. 21. Detectives identified Brodrick as a suspect after interviewing witnesses and collecting the video evidence of the scene.
Detectives interviewed Brodrick's partner, who reportedly said she hadn't seen Brodrick after the shooting.
She told them Brodrick went to confront Fraley because they believed Fraley had broken into their residence down the street and filmed her. She said she thought Fraley had shot Brodrick when she heard gunshots, according to court records.
Detectives noted that Brodrick's partner called 911 from Brodrick's phone right after the shooting. A witness reported seeing her driving toward Fraley's residence after the shooting, according to court records.
Law enforcement alleges in court records that she left the scene after contacting officers and later returned to retrieve her vehicle.
She later told law enforcement that she drove Brodrick's vehicle to the residence of two individuals. On Aug. 23, police arrested the two individuals, both convicted felons, at a gas station in Lacey after allegedly finding them with firearms.
One of them shared the location of Brodrick's vehicle and encrypted messages with Brodrick who was allegedly going by the pseudonym "Matt Stone," according to court records. Detectives later recovered the vehicle but did not find the rifle.
On Friday, detectives interviewed another person that Brodrick allegedly communicated with via encrypted messages.
Court records indicate this person revealed a network of people who helped Brodrick after the shooting. He also said he did not know Brodrick was wanted for homicide.
The person then called Brodrick to set up a meeting at a fast-food restaurant in Lacey while detectives listened in on the call, according to court records.
Lacey police arrested Brodrick at the restaurant, but court records say he was initially non-compliant. Officers reportedly used a taser and a police dog to take him into custody.
Brodrick was treated at an area hospital before being booked into the Thurston County jail on an arrest warrant, The Olympian previously reported.
Detectives interviewed Brodrick following his arrest. He allegedly admitted that another person booked him a room at a motel in Tumwater after the shooting.
Court records say Brodrick stayed at the motel while wearing a disguise of a hat and a face mask.
