The girlfriend of triple-murder suspect Brent Ward Luyster allegedly provided him with at least nine firearms in the year leading up to the slayings at a Woodland home, according to a federal indictment. It is unclear if any of those weapons were used in the fatal shootings, however.
Andrea Sibley, 28, is charged in U.S. District Court in Tacoma with one count of aiding and abetting a felon in possession of a firearm and five counts of giving a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.
Luyster, 37, a known white supremacist, is facing one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The grand jury indictment, filed July 26, states that between March 2015 and May 2016 in Clark and Cowlitz counties, Sibley provided Luyster with three .223 caliber rifles, two .22 caliber rifles, a .40 caliber handgun, 12 gauge shotgun, .308 caliber rifle, and .380 caliber handgun.
She’s also accused of giving a false address to a Sportsman’s Warehouse while purchasing firearms July 5, 2015, and July 17, 2015; Bob’s Merchandise in Longview on Feb. 17, 2016, and Feb. 19, 2016; and Clark County Transfers on Feb. 24, 2016, the indictment shows.
Sibley — who helped Luyster go on the lam after he allegedly fatally shot three people and injured a fourth in July 2016 — pleaded guilty last year to first-degree rendering criminal assistance and was sentenced to a year of community custody.
A federal warrant was issued for her arrest July 26. Court records show that she was arrested two days later and appeared in court in Tacoma.
Luyster’s federal charge relates to a May 16, 2016, incident in Longview, court records state. On that day, he was arrested for allegedly pistol-whipping his former girlfriend.
An FBI agent — included in the probable cause affidavit for Luyster’s triple-homicide case — confirmed that he was facing federal charges in connection with the Cowlitz County case. In the Cowlitz case, Luyster is charged with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, felony harassment and two counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Clark County cases
Last month, a Clark County Superior Court judge ruled that Luyster will face separate trials: one for aggravated murder and the other for attempted escape from the Clark County Jail in February.
His murder trial is set for October. In that case, he faces three counts of aggravated first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and first- and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
A trial date has not yet been set for the remaining charges, which include second-degree attempted escape, first-degree malicious mischief and possession of a weapon by a jail inmate.
He is scheduled for a hearing on the matter Aug. 29.
Luyster was previously convicted in 2013 of criminal mischief with a deadly weapon; 2010 of second-degree possession of stolen property; 2005 of malicious harassment; 2001 of third-degree assault; 1998 of second-degree burglary; and 1997 of second-degree theft, according to the indictment.
