A judge set bail at $3 million Tuesday for the alleged getaway driver in the fatal shooting of Clark County sheriff’s Detective Jeremy Brown.
Abran Raya Leon, 28, appeared via video in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree murder, possession of a stolen firearm and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Sept. 24.
His brother, Guillermo Raya Leon, 26, is accused of shooting Brown on the evening of July 23 as Brown conducted surveillance in an unmarked Jeep SUV at an east Vancouver apartment complex.
Guillermo Raya Leon was arrested two days later in Salem, Ore., and is charged in Clark County Superior Court with first-degree aggravated murder and possession of a stolen firearm. He pleaded not guilty to the charges last week. His trial is set for April 18.
An arrest warrant was first issued for Abran Raya Leon on July 27 for first-degree rendering criminal assistance; however, the charges were later amended. He has been in federal custody for another case since his arrest on the night of the shooting.
Police from several agencies were surveilling the brothers and Abran Raya Leon’s wife, Misty Raya, on July 23 in connection with stolen firearms, court records say.
Raya, 35, is accused of breaking into a Hazel Dell storage unit in early June and stealing a cache of about 30 firearms and 20,000 to 30,000 rounds of ammunition. She pleaded not guilty last month to burglary, identity theft and 32 counts of firearm theft. Her trial is scheduled for March 7.
Her friend, Lani Rene Kraabell, 48, who, according to court records, drove the trio to the apartment complex July 23, is now facing second-degree murder and firearm-related charges for allegedly facilitating the sale of some of the stolen guns — even after Brown was killed.
Kraabell also appeared this week in Clark County Superior Court and is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 24.
Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik told Judge Suzan Clark on Tuesday that Abran Raya Leon cut off his GPS ankle monitor while on supervised release and that a federal warrant was issued for his arrest the day before the shooting.
The prosecutor said Abran Raya Leon was helping to sell the firearms when his brother shot Brown.
After the shooting, he drove his wife and brother away from the apartment complex in a Toyota SUV and evaded pursuing police. The SUV was found crashed and abandoned near Interstate 205 and Padden Parkway, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Police found and arrested Abran Raya Leon and his wife later that night in the backyard of an unoccupied house in the 8700 block of Northeast 76th Avenue. Officers also located there the stolen revolver they believe Guillermo Raya Leon used to shoot Brown in the chest, court records say.
Two others, Stephen Harley Iverson, 53, and Charles Alfred Cooper Jr., 45, are facing trafficking charges for allegedly helping Kraabell and Raya sell some of the stolen firearms. They both entered not-guilty pleas last month.
