Two Dogs Salvatore Fasaga’s murder case will go to trial next week, all parties confirmed in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday.
Fasaga, 43, is accused of fatally shooting Paul Snarski, also known as “Hound,” 40, of Auburn, with a .45 caliber semi-automatic at Fasaga’s Onalaska residence late on May 11 or May 12, 2018, then dismembering Snarski’s body and having other dispose of Snarski’s remains, vehicle and shoes, according to court documents. He is charged with one count each of first-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
About an hour and a half after his trial confirmation hearing on Thursday, Fasaga had a preliminary hearing on an unrelated drive-by shooting case that was dismissed in December 2018 but was subsequently refiled in Lewis County Superior Court.
The case could be refiled in the same court of law because a judge dismissed the case without prejudice.
In that case, Fasaga is accused of using a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol to shoot at a vehicle in Onalaska on July 10, 2018.
The alleged victim reported stopping his car near Shanklin Road near Onalaska around 11:05 p.m. after another car, allegedly driven by Fasaga, pulled up behind him and turned off his headlights, according to court documents.
The alleged victim reportedly got out of his car to ask Fasaga if there was a problem, to which Fasaga allegedly said “he would be back” and, when asked “what he meant by that,” Fasaga allegedly shot at the victim.
The alleged victim said he returned to his car and “sped away,” but the other car followed him and Fasaga allegedly continued shooting. Fasaga’s car reportedly flipped over on its top at the intersection of Leonard and Burchett roads then collided with the alleged victim’s car.
When he was ultimately located by law enforcement, Fasaga reportedly “stated he had nothing to do with the collision or the gunshots and stated there was a conspiracy,” claiming he was at an Onalaska residence drinking the whole night.
Fasaga was charged with one count each of first-degree assault, drive-by-shooting and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in Lewis County Superior Court on July 11, 2018.
Further investigation into the case revealed the firearm involved in the July 10 shooting was stolen, which led to Fasaga facing a federal firearm offense in U.S. District Court.
“The defendant was transported to a federal facility pending trial in that matter and the court dismissed the case, without prejudice, on Dec. 13, 2018,” prosecutors state in an updated affidavit of probable cause filed.
At the time, Fasaga’s attorney said the case was dismissed because prosecutors had difficulty getting in touch with the alleged victim, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
Fasaga was arrested by the FBI on federal weapons charges in April 2019 and remained in federal custody through at least February 2020, according to reporting by the The Seattle Times at the time. That federal case has since been resolved, according to Fasaga’s attorney, Peter Connick.
The drive-by-shooting case was formally refiled in Lewis County Superior Court on June 2, 2021, at which time Fasaga was in custody in King County for the pending murder case.
That case was filed in King County Superior Court in January 2020 following a lengthy police investigation. The case was moved from King County to Lewis County Superior Court on June 20 after a King County Superior Court judge approved a motion by Fasaga’s attorney to change venue because the murder itself allegedly took place in Lewis County.
A pre-trial hearing for the murder case is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Monday, July 10. The trial itself is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 11.
Arraignment for the drive-by shooting case is scheduled for Thursday, July 13. “That may depend on what’s going on with that trial. It may need to be rescheduled,” Judge James Lawler said of the arraignment hearing on Thursday.
Bail is set at $1 million for the drive-by shooting case and $5 million for the murder case, for a total of $6 million.
