WA man arrested in fatal shooting from 2023

KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. - After a year-long investigation, deputies arrested a Poulsbo man in connection to a fatal shooting from September 2023.

The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday that they arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of manslaughter, which they say he claimed was an accidental shooting.

The arrest is a culmination of an investigation into the death of 25-year-old Bradley Smith, who was found dead from a gunshot wound on Sept. 23, 2023.

Authorities were called to a car crash near Tracyton Blvd NW and NW Selbo Rd in Silverdale, where they found Smith dead in the driver's seat, and the 23-year-old man in the passenger seat.

The passenger told police that Smith accidentally shot himself.

During the investigation, forensic testing determined that Smith's fatal gunshot injury could not have been self-inflicted, leading them to identify the passenger as the suspect in his death.

Deputies arrested the man on Sept. 30, 2024 and booked him into Kitsap County Jail for suspicion of first-degree manslaughter.