Court documents allege the boys, Gabriel Davies and Justin Jiwoon Yoon, both 16, broke into the Orting man’s home through a doggy door while wearing gloves and dark clothing. Records say Davies’ father told law enforcement the teenagers were led to steal something from the home by the victim’s “biker friends,” who allegedly threatened to harm them if they didn’t follow. Davis and Yoon were charged in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree burglary — all with firearm accessories — as well as two counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. They were arraigned Tuesday afternoon and Superior Court Judge James Orlando set bail at $1 million. The teenagers, who are incarcerated at the Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center, were automatically charged as adults due to the seriousness of the offenses and their age. Pierce County Deputy District Attorney Lisa Wagner cited the defendants’ alleged “level of planning” and efforts to hide evidence in asking for $1 million bail for both teenagers. Wagner also said both defendants are flight risks. He claimed Davis staged his disappearance to avoid prosecution. The News Tribune does not typically name juveniles accused of crimes. In this case, the names are being released due to the recent previous coverage of Davies’ disappearance as well as the seriousness of the alleged offences. Both teenagers have retained private attorneys. Davies’ attorney, Brett Purtzer, declined to comment on the case. Yoon’s attorney, Angela Horwath, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The defendants’ families attended the hearing via Zoom but did not make statements. Wagner said officials are still working to locate the victim’s family. Gabriel Davies (left) and Justin Jiwoon Yoonin appear via video for their arraignments on charges of first-degree murder in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Washington on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. The pair are charged in the death of a 51- old man Orting. Tony Overman [email protected] Davis caught the public’s attention last week when he disappeared while on his way to soccer practice. His vehicle was found — with some blood inside and a broken cell phone nearby — and a two-day search ensued. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office led the effort with assistance from the FBI and other agencies. Those worried about Davis’ return were relieved after midnight Thursday when the Sheriff’s Office announced he had been found. But the story soon took a turn. Earlier that day, a man was found dead of a gunshot wound in Orting. Davies and Yoon were arrested for the man’s murder the following night. The victim and Davies knew each other, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Darren Moss told The News Tribune. According to previous reports, additional property and court records from Pierce and Thurston counties link the home where the killing occurred to a 51-year-old man with longstanding ties to Davies and his mother. All of them lived at the address for several years. The man and Davies’ mother were a couple, according to statements filed by both people in a long-running family law case.
A man was found shot, stabbed
The victim, who has not been released, was found dead Thursday morning by Pierce County deputies conducting a welfare check at a home in the 21700 block of 190th Street East, about 5 miles east of Orting. Records show the man had not shown up for his last four shifts at work. The man was found in the laundry room, with a “significant amount” of blood near his body and some spattered on the washing machine. According to charging documents, he may have been dead for four days before being found. Decomposition made some injuries difficult to identify. Fire Department personnel arrived and found a spent shell casing near his body and a possible gunshot wound to the temple, according to the probable cause statement. Further examination by a medical examiner found blemishes on the man’s stomach and chest believed to be stab wounds. No firearm was found near the victim, but more shell casings and “multiple” gun holsters and ammunition loading equipment were found around the home and in a detached garage. According to the probable cause document, a .45 caliber shell casing and a 9 mm casing were found, indicating that two weapons were possibly used. Two empty gun cases were also found. It was later determined that the defendants stole two firearms from the residence and disposed of them in Thurston County.
Investigators are linking the disappearance to murder
The investigator began connecting the man’s murder to Davis’ disappearance after detectives learned the man had previously been in a relationship with Davis’ mother. According to the probable cause document, detectives believed it was important information because Davies had been reported missing. Deputies contacted Thurston County detectives who advised that Davies’ vehicle was recovered near Tenino with exterior damage and blood on the steering wheel. A Thurston detective investigating the teenager’s disappearance was contacted by the father of Davies’ friend, Justin Yoon, records show. The father claimed to have information about a crime involving Davies. As part of the missing person investigation, a detective spoke with Davies’ family members, who said he and Yoon had gone camping at Panther Lake in Mason County on Aug. 27-28. In Davis’ room at his home, detectives found a 9mm shell casing, but it was not recovered. According to the document, the victim’s death was unknown to any law enforcement agency at the time. Davies’ was found at about 10pm on September 1, about three miles from where his vehicle had been found abandoned. Records say he was not wearing a shirt or shoes, but had no injuries that would indicate he was walking in the woods during the 36 hours he was missing. “Davis initially told a detective that he could not remember what had happened to him or where he was at the time of his disappearance,” prosecutors wrote in the charging document. “He later stated that he couldn’t say what had happened to him because people were going to hurt him.”
The video records a burglary
Surveillance footage from a DVR found at the victim’s home showed two “young thin males” approaching the home from the backyard at approximately 1:59 a.m. of August 28. The two crawled into the house through a doggy door. One appeared to have pepper spray on his belt. About 40 minutes later, the victim is seen emerging from his detached garage. He “stumbled” into his residence, prosecutors wrote in the indictment. Six minutes later, the victim’s dog runs out the dog door and the suspects exit shortly after through a side door. The two ran back and forth in the garage before fleeing at about 2:52 a.m. having several items in tow, including a “possible weapon.” Detectives obtained State Department of Licensing photos of Davies and Yoon and compared them to the video. It appeared to be them, prosecutors wrote.
The defendant’s father calls the detective
On Sept. 2, a Thurston County detective received a call from Davies’ father, who told him, “Gabe was involved in [the victim’s’] death,” records state. He went on to say that the victim’s “biker friends” had approached his son, telling him to steal an item from a safe at the man’s house and threatening harm if he didn’t. Davies told Yoon about it, the father said, and the teenagers hatched a “plot” to get the item. The two went to the man’s house on the evening of August 28 or the next morning. The item was not recognized on the billing papers. “The father reported that his son knew where the victim’s gun was kept and said that ‘when the victim came into the house, Justin ran up behind him and stabbed him’ and stated that ‘then, Gabe heard a gunshot’” situation. Davis went into the garage to retrieve the item he was there to retrieve when he heard a second gunshot, the father told the detective. His son said the gun used in the incident was a ditch near his home. According to the probable cause document, Davis, with the help of his attorney, later showed investigators where the weapons had been placed. A 9 mm pistol and a .45 caliber pistol were found in a military-style ammunition container, along with full magazines of ammunition. More than a dozen knives were also found. The father also reported that the victim’s “biker friends,” who he said were members of a “certain outlaw motorcycle club,” attacked his son days after the shooting. He said the bikers followed Davis on Wednesday and pulled him from his vehicle to the location where it was later found abandoned. “Defendant Davies told his father that the blood in his truck was from the bikers who smashed his face inside the car,” the records state. “They also reportedly put him in a Suburban and drove him around, roughing him up before releasing him.” Davis also told his father that the bikers took his shirt and shoes and then went through his vehicle looking for what had been taken from the victim. However, according to the document, Davis told his father that the bikers didn’t actually take anything. This…