Tacoma, Wash. – A man from Snohomish County in Washington State was arrested and charged in connection with both the shooting death of a horse in Tacoma as well as a double homicide in the city of Maple Valley.
According to the Piece County Sheriff’s Office, their animal control officers are investigating the December 17th shooting and death of a horse at a stable in Tacoma. According to court documents, King County detectives identified the suspect as Brandon Gerner.
Gerner allegedly shot and killed the horse following the memorial service for his friend, Kody Olsen, 45, who was killed during a shootout with Pierce County deputies earlier in December. Olsen had opened fire on the deputies following a DUI traffic stop, wounding two deputies.
Olsen later died from his injuries.
Olsen has a history with law enforcement. In 2014, Olsen was tracked by the U.S. Marshals Service and local police and arrested on federal probation violation charges, resisting arrest, as well as felon in possession of a firearm and stolen property,
Court documents alleged that Gerner shot and killed the horse as a “sacrifice” for his dead friend.
One of the horses’ owners, Fred Greer, spoke with KIRO 7 News.
“We were relieved to find out that someone had been arrested and then as more news came out on the other circumstances, we were also saddened by the other two people who had been killed,” said Greer. “But we’ve been kind of worried that it was a random act.”
“We’re happy, but we’re still saddened by what happened,” he also said.
The horse, named LeMon, reportedly belonged to Geer’s daughter, Delanie Greer, who had the horse for over a decade. She and LeMon competed across the country, including in shows with the Appaloosa Horse Club Youth World Championships.
A GoFundMe has been set up in response to the death of LeMon to help the family.
According to the court documents, Gerner, Olsen, and another man, Joshua Jones, were involved in multiple white supremacist groups and are linked to a double murder case in Maple Valley.
