On a Tuesday afternoon, April 5, 2022, 70-year-old Carl Bridgmon, a White male, drove to Daleway Park in Lynnwood, Washington, a familiar and quiet spot where he often enjoyed a cup of coffee. Tragically, this routine visit placed him in the middle of a violent altercation that would cost him his life. Bridgmon became the unintended victim of a drug deal that escalated into a fatal shooting.
The incident began when two 18-year-olds arranged to buy marijuana from two other individuals at
the park. An argument erupted within the sellers' vehicle, a black sedan, when one of the teenagers questioned the quality of the drugs. The situation quickly turned violent as the two sellers began assaulting one of the teens. As the two teenagers fled the scene on foot, gunshots were fired. Bridgmon, who was sitting in his own car nearby, had started to film the dispute with his cellphone. In a horrifying turn of events, his phone captured his own death as the gunfire struck him and his vehicle. He was found deceased in the driver's seat of his car by responding officers.
The investigation into the senseless killing led Lynnwood Police to two suspects. In May 2022, Leif Gunnar Smith, a 21-year-old from Marysville, was arrested as the suspected driver of the vehicle. He was initially charged with murder, among other offenses. Later, Smith pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for his cooperation in the investigation against his accomplice.
The second suspect, 24-year-old Raven Daniel Lonewarrior Brealan, was identified as the shooter. He was apprehended in Tacoma in October 2022 as he attempted to return to his home in California. Lonewarrior Brealan was charged with first-degree murder. In August 2023, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 28 years in prison. For his role, Leif Smith received a five-year sentence for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.
