Arrest Made in June Shooting of Man on Lake Cavanaugh Road

Lake Cavanaugh, WA– On June 7th, 2016 the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a male who claimed that he  had been randomly shot around 4:51 a.m. while walking 7.5 miles East of Highway 9 on Lake Cavanaugh Road.

Initial reports at the time, stated  the man, later identified as 65-year old Craig Simpson of Yakima,  was walking along the roadway  when someone driving Northbound on Lake Cavanaugh Road shot him and then  laughed at him as they drove away.

A truck driver, found the man laying in the roadway and called 9-1-1. The truck driver stayed with Mr. Simpson and applied pressure to his gunshot wounds  until Lake Cavanaugh Firefighters and EMS arrived on scene.  Mr. Simpson was then transported via airlift Northwest to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office conducted a thorough investigation into the shooting and collected several pieces of evidence at the scene, including a pair of pink ear buds near blood evidence at a short path that leads down from the roadway pullout to the creek.

On Thursday, June 9th, 2016, detectives spoke to 42-year old Stacey Sipes who was in a romantic relationship with Mr. Simpson at the time of the shooting incident.  SIPES  told Deputies she had been in an argument with Mr. Simpson  and claimed that he had given  her the keys to his 1995 Chevrolet 1500 pickup and she was in Shoreline.

On Friday, June 10th, 2016, Detectives again spoke with Mr. Simpson by phone. Mr. Simpson gave a different story than SIPES and told Detectives that he and a friend returned from Yakima and met SIPES in Everett. SIPES was with a male named Kevin. Mr. Simpson told Detectives that the four of them traveled in Mr. Simpsons truck to the Tulalip area where they dropped off Mr. Simpson’s friend.  He said he fell asleep and when he woke up he got into an argument with SIPES.  He then told Detectives he got out of his truck to walk and was shot within a short amount of time. Mr. Simpson said he did not know of any firearms in the truck.

SIPES gave detectives the location of Mr. Simpson’s Truck, which was located on North Broadway in Everett and impounded to the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office.

On Sunday, June 12th, 2016, Detectives again spoke with SIPES. She insisted she was not present when the shooting took place and again told detectives she had taken Mr. Simpson’s truck from the Tulalip Area.  She also told Detectives that Kevin was a friend of hers and she knew nothing about him.  She then told Deputies that Mr. Simpson owned guns but had not seen him with any. SIPES admitted that a family member of hers owned an island in the middle of Lake Cavanaugh, which has a cabin on it.

Detectives executed Search warrant  on Mr. Simpson’s truck and Cell phone which showed phone activity with SIPES and a phone number that came back to a Kevin Cuthbertson.

On Thursday June 16th, 2016, Detectives again spoke with Mr. Simpson. He explained that he and Stacey SIPES were arguing and the walked away from the truck.  He said they ended up near the creek. He said he was walking back up the incline to the pullout area behind SIPES and CUTHBERTSON when CUTHBERTSON shot him.   He described CUTHBERTON to Deputies and told them he had a bright-colored item, possibly earphones, around his neck at the time of the shooting. He also explained to Deputies that CUTHBERTSON and SIPES left the Scene in Mr. Simpson’s truck.

On June 29th, 2016, Kevin Cuthbertson was booked into the Snohomish County Jail by Arlington Police for Assault 3rd degree and other charges. He had originally been contacted at a Rite Aid store for refusing to leave.  Stacey SIPES was contacted by Arlington PD during the incident at Rite Aid and she gave Officers a False name.  She has various warrants out for her arrest.

On October 19th, 2016, Kevin Cuthbertson was booked into the Skagit County Jail on a Felony Warrant Arrest for Assault with a Firearm. He is currently being held in Lieu of $500,000 bail.

 

Stacey SIPES was arrested on October 25th, 2016. She has court cases pending in Spokane County.

It is unclear if Stacey SIPES  or Mr.  Simpson will be charged in the Skagit County Shooting case for providing false statements to Detectives.

 

Reference: Skagit County Superior Court Case 16-1-00769-6

Reference: Spokane Superior Court Case 16-1-04151-6

Previous Skagitbreaking.com Story: https://www.skagitbreaking.com/2016/06/07/skagit-deputies-respond-to-reports-of-man-shot/