A 36-year-old man fatally shot his 27-year-old roommate Thursday at a home south of Woodland in Cowlitz County, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.
Cowlitz deputies responded about 6 p.m. for a report of a dispute at a home in the 1100 block of South Pekin Road. The caller, identified by police as Corey Allen Raymond, said he lived at the house and another man was refusing to leave. Raymond also said the man was intoxicated and threatening him, according to a news release.
About four minutes into the call, Raymond told dispatchers he’d shot the man, the sheriff’s office said.
When deputies and Woodland police arrived, they found a man, later identified as David Austin Pfleger, dead, according to the news release.
Deputies later confirmed Pfleger and Raymond lived there, along with Raymond’s sister, who was dating Pfleger. Raymond’s sister was not home at the time, the news release states.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for the house and seized a Ruger .380 pistol, along with other evidence, according to the sheriff’s office.
Detectives listened to the 911 call and noted they could not hear any direct threats during it. They also heard Raymond tell dispatchers Pfleger was unarmed. Detectives said they heard Raymond say, “This (expletive) psycho needs to (expletive) die,” and, “Let’s (expletive) do this,” seconds before he said he shot Pfleger, the news release states.
During an interview at the Woodland Police Department, detectives said Raymond did not tell them Pfleger tried to assault him, only that Pfleger tried to take the phone from him. Raymond told them he’d shoved Pfleger to the ground, and when Pfleger tried to get up, Raymond said he pulled the pistol from his pocket, chambered a round and shot Pfleger three times in the torso, according to the sheriff’s office.
Raymond said he did not want Pfleger to know he was armed, and he told detectives he didn’t like Pfleger or want him living at the house, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said deputies booked Raymond into the Cowlitz County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder. Pfleger’s next of kin have been notified, and the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office will conduct an autopsy.
