Ex-soldier sentenced to 70 years for 2023 Beyond Wonderland shooting in WA
Soldier sentenced to 70 years for WA festival shooting
A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who shot multiple people, killing two, during a festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in 2023 was sentenced to 70 years in prison.
A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who shot multiple people, killing two, during a festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in 2023 was sentenced to 70 years.
Beyond Wonderland shooting: Ex-soldier sentenced to 70 years
In a press release, the U.S. Army announced that 29-year-old James M. Kelly, a fire support specialist assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, pleaded guilty to the murders of Brandy Escamilla and Josilyn Ruiz and to injuring three others.
The backstory:
On June 17, 2023, Kelly was attending the multi-day EDM festival, Beyond Wonderland, with his girlfriend when he consumed psilocybin—a compound commonly found in psychedelic mushrooms—and began showing paranoid behavior.
When Kelly and his girlfriend returned to the campsite, Kelly used a handgun to shoot and kill the two victims as they were passing nearby. Authorities say he did not know them.
At around 8:25 p.m., an active shooter alert was issued on the Grant County Sheriff's Office Facebook page. Officers from several local law enforcement agencies provided services at the Gorge that night. Authorities said that as deputies responded, Kelly "randomly continued to shoot into the crowd."
According to the U.S. Army, Kelly continued shooting, hitting a bystander in the shoulder before moving away from the campsite with his girlfriend. His girlfriend then tried to intervene, and Kelly assaulted her and shot her twice in the lower body.
He then fired shots at an all-terrain vehicle occupied by three security personnel responding to the incident, and shot down a drone that police were using to try and locate him.
Kelly was quickly found in an agricultural field near the campground, shot by a Moses Lake police officer and taken into custody.
Timeline:
In February 2026, the Army took over the prosecution responsibility of the case.
"This sentence reflects the seriousness of Spc. Kelly’s conduct and represents an important step towards accountability and justice," said Capt. Stewart Miller, prosecutor, Sixth Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel. "We will continue to honor the victims and their families, and hope this result brings a measure of closure to a long and tragic chapter in the many lives impacted by this case."
In addition to pleading guilty to the murders of Brandy Escamilla and Josilyn Ruiz, Kelly pleaded guilty to charges of domestic violence, reckless discharge of a firearm, and the wrongful use and possession of psilocybin—a Schedule I controlled substance.
What's next:
Kelly is slated to carry out his sentence at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
The Source: Information in this story comes from a press release by the U.S. Army, the Grant County Sheriff's Office and original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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