A Spanish Fork man faces murder charges in Jefferson County, Wash., where authorities say he emptied bullets of two guns on the owner of a towing company Tuesday.
Ryan Neil Sorensen, 30, was charged Wednesday with murder with premeditation, a first-degree felony, punishable with up to life in prison, Jefferson County Attorney Juelanne Dalzell said.
Also on Wednesday, Sorensen appeared in a local court for an initial appearance. Bail was set at $1 million. "A public defender was appointed," Dalzell said.
According to court documents, about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a man entered Smith's Services in Port Hadlock, Wash., a town 42 miles east of Port Angeles. With a pistol in each hand, he confronted the owner, Frank "Skip" Smith.
The man walked around a desk to where Smith was standing and said, "You won't laugh at me again," court documents state. He then fired one round.
The man asked two employees in the office if they wanted to live. He instructed them to sit in nearby chairs. Then the man pointed the gun in his right hand at Smith and shot until it was empty. He changed guns and fired the second gun until it was empty, court documents state.
Sometime during the shooting, the gunman allegedly told two employees to bind their hands together with duct tape.
Jefferson County sheriff's officers found Sorensen armed with two guns. Sorensen was convinced to surrender and was taken to jail, court documents state.
Paramedics worked on Smith, 63, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dalzell said the County Attorney's Office did not pursue aggravated homicide charges against Sorensen because "it doesn't meet the criteria. You have to have torture or multiple victims or something like that."
Smith's daughter had been in a relationship with Sorensen, and had lived in Spanish Fork, but authorities would not elaborate on the motive.
A court records check showed Sorensen had no recent criminal history in 4th District Court; and Spanish Fork police checked out his name for the Deseret News and did not find any complaints.
Sorensen's arraignment is scheduled for May 9.
E-MAIL: lhancock@desnews.com