Small Town News

Crime

Botched drive-by shooting lands Preston man in jail

The Issaquah Press of Issaquah, Washington

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Prosecutors said a Preston man attempted a drive-by shooting of his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend in late May.

But he shot up the wrong house.

Now, Andrew Michael Cox faces a drive-by shooting charge for the botched hit.

King County prosecutors said the 26-year-old Preston resident had been calling and harassing his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend for hours. The calls started late May 27 and continued into early the next morning.

Cox left numerous messages and called the man names, court documents state.

The taunts took a serious turn at about 2:30 a.m. May 28, after prosecutors said Cox decided to track down the man at his home along West Lake Sammamish Parkway Southeast in Bellevue. Neighbors reported hearing four or five shots fired nearby.

Police said the bullets missed the intended target, and instead struck a nearby home. The neighbors -- a couple and their three small children -- said bullets knocked a large mirror from a wall, reached a bathroom used by a daughter and lodged in a wall behind a bathtub.

Bellevue police said neighbors heard a diesel truck drive from the area after hearing gunshots. Investigators later recovered a spent bullet casing in the driveway outside the damaged home.

Police booked Cox into the King County Jail after investigators searched his home July 19. Investigators matched a handgun to the spent bullet discovered at the shooting scene.

Cox pleaded not guilty to the charge during a July 29 hearing. He remains in custody at the King County Jail. The court set a scheduling hearing for Aug. 26.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress. com.



Copyright 2010 The Issaquah Press, Issaquah, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 The Issaquah Press Issaquah, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

Original Publication Date: August 4, 2010



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