King County prosecutors have charged a 43-year-old Auburn woman with the shooting death on Christmas Eve of a 29-year-old Puyallup man in a parking lot in Renton.
Law enforcement arrested Bridgette Corrina Cook, 43, of Auburn, on Jan. 12 following an investigation of the Dec. 24 shooting that killed Jerid Sprague, 29, of Puyallup.
King County prosecutors charged Cook with murder in the second degree on Jan. 18.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Cook is accused of shooting Sprague in the head in his vehicle in a parking lot in the 1100 block of Oakesdale Avenue Southwest. A third occupant in the vehicle served as a participant in the incident.
According to King County Superior Court documents, surveillance footage reportedly shows Sprague, sitting in the driver’s seat, getting punched in the head from the backseat of the vehicle by Cook.
A struggle started in the vehicle between Cook, Sprague and the third passenger, who was sitting in the front seat. According to the affidavit, video showed a gun in Cook’s hand, extending from the backseat between the two front seat headrests, aimed at Sprague’s head as Sprague fought back.
A shot shattered the driver’s side window, according to the affidavit. The bullet struck Sprague in the head and exited from right to left. Sprague collapsed into his seat.
Video showed Cook sitting in the backseat as the third occupant exited the vehicle and started walking for the road, according to the affidavit. Cook exited and followed the third occupant.
The two returned to the scene and allegedly removed Sprague from the driver’s seat of the vehicle prior to Cook driving the vehicle from the scene with the third occupant in the passenger’s seat as officers arrived on the scene.
According to the affidavit, officers detained Cook and the third occupant at the scene.
In an interview with Cook, she stated to detectives that she believed Sprague potentially shot himself.
According to the Renton Police Department, “at that time, there was not enough evidence to hold either one, so they were released.”
In a second interview with Cook after law enforcement arrested her in Spanaway, Cook stated that the third occupant shot Sprague.
The court scheduled Cook’s arraignment for Feb. 1 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
Cook remains in jail on $1 million bail, according to an email from Casey McNerthney, director of communications for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
As of Jan. 19, prosecutors have filed no charges against the third occupant of the vehicle, according to an email from McNerthney.
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