Joseph Cooley, Shoreline Shooting Suspect, Turns Himself In

Shoreline homicide suspect Joseph Cooley, 20, turned himself at the King County Jail Sunday night, according to Sgt. Cindi West of the King County Sheriff's Office.

Cooley is charged with the shooting and killing of 17-year-old Shorecrest senior Tiana Montgomery of Lake Forest Park and seriously wounding 18-year-old Shorewood senior Darrold Edwards while they were at the Maplewood Court Apartments parking lot at 328 Richmond Beach Road.

Bail was set Friday at $2 million for Cooley. He has been charged by prosecutors with murder in the second degree and attempted murder in the second degree.

Cooley, who worked at medical marijuana dispensary in Seattle, had no documented criminal history prior to the incident, according to prosecutors. However, prosecutors also wrote that Cooley "repeatedly shot at one of the victims for no apparent reason. In the process of this assault, he took the life of a completely innocent bystander. 

The shooting took place after an argument between Montgomery and a friend of Cooley's while a cell phone was being returned to the friend of Cooley's, according to the detective's narrative. Cooley confronted Edwards and pulled a handgun out of his waistband and pulled the slide out. Edwards got out of the SUV to confront Cooley and Cooley shot him in the knee. Edwards turned and jumped back into the passenger side of the SUV and was shot twice in the back. Montgomery drove the SUV out of the parking lot at a high rate of speed and then realized she had been shot. When she became unconcious, Edwards got into the driver's seat and drove toward the Shoreline Police station where he was contacted by officers.

A witness later said Cooley said he shot Edwards in the leg and torso because he was getting "buck" or disrespected. Cooley also fired on the SUV driven by Montgomery and she was struck with a single gunshot to the torso and later died of the wound at Harborview. 

Police found four spent shell casings, one live round and some broken bottles in the parking lot, according to the report. They also found damaged cars that appeared to have been struck by the SUV as it was leaving the apartment complex.

Edwards spoke to detectives at the hospital and identified Cooley as the shooter, as did two other witnesses. Edwards is now in satisfactory condition at Harborview.