Monroe prison guard guilty of shooting roommate in 2021

LAKE STEVENS – A jury on Tuesday found a former Monroe prison guard guilty of fatally shooting his roommate in Lake Stevens.

After a trial lasting more than three weeks in Snohomish County Superior Court, the jury began deliberations around 4 p.m. on Friday. At 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday, they found 48-year-old Emmanuel Perez guilty of first-degree murder in May 2021.

In June 2021, prosecutors charged Perez with first-degree murder. Judge Karen Moore instructed jurors to consider the lesser charges of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter if they did not see conclusive evidence of first-degree murder.

Perez argued that he fired in self-defense. The jury disagreed.

Perez had worked as a corrections officer for 14 years. After the shooting, he was placed on unpaid administrative leave.

According to court documents, around 9 a.m. on May 24, Perez was in the living room of the Colonial Gardens Apartments in Lake Stevens with his roommate, Terrance Moore.

The defense argued that the victim attacked first and nearly shot Perez with a shotgun. The prosecution countered that there was no physical evidence that Terrance Moore ever owned a gun.

Perez and Terrance Moore had been drinking alcohol and taking drugs for 14 hours before the shooting, court documents say. They smoked meth together on the couch from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Perez did not sleep that night, the defense wrote in court documents.

Perez’s attorney, John Chase, wrote in court documents that his client spoke with Terrance Moore about how they needed to “get their lives in order.” The conversation turned into an argument. Chase claimed Terrance Moore pushed Perez and grabbed a shotgun from the corner of the room.

Perez said he tried to grab a shotgun from Terrance Moore, his attorney wrote. Terrance Moore allegedly pulled the trigger and the bullet narrowly missed Perez. Chase wrote that Terrance Moore lunged at the couch where he kept a handgun. Perez shot the victim and then ran from the apartment.

Prosecutors agreed that Terrance Moore was first shot while he was sitting on or near the couch.

After getting out of his car, Perez saw the victim coming around the corner and shot him again, according to the prosecution.

During the trial, Perez testified that he never called for help or medical attention, Assistant District Attorney Jason Slaybaugh said in an email. Perez also testified that after he had already shot Terrance Moore, he took the time to stop at his car to reload.

Terrance Moore, 35, died at the scene. The Snohomish County coroner’s office determined he had been shot seven times in the neck, chest and leg, the indictment states.

Witnesses reported seeing Perez walking toward the parking lot of the nearby Buzz Inn Steakhouse, about a block away, before police arrested him. He was carrying a silver and black .40-caliber Kahr pistol and a knife, court records say.

“Do I have any holes?” Perez asked the police when he was arrested.

Investigators found shell casings in the apartment and in the parking lot. Police also found a Winchester Model 370 shotgun in the apartment that had been fired at least once, damaging a wall, court documents say. A forensic expert examined the shotgun for fingerprints, court documents say. Only Perez’s fingerprints were found on the gun.

The date for the verdict to be announced was set for July 22nd.

Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; [email protected]; Twitter: @snocojon.