Alleged accomplice pleads not guilty in armed burglary case

Last June, a masked man armed with a silver handgun in each hand entered a North Whidbey home and demanded marijuana from the residents, firing two shots into a couch when he didn’t get what he wanted, according to a deputy’s report.

Last June, a masked man armed with a silver handgun in each hand entered a North Whidbey home and demanded marijuana from the residents, firing two shots into a couch when he didn’t get what he wanted, according to a deputy’s report.

While the masked man hasn’t been positively identified, the Oak Harbor man who allegedly let him into the home could potentially face more than eight years behind bars for his role in the crime if convicted.

Evan Wilson, 22, pleaded not guilty in Island County Superior Court June 1 to “burglary in the first degree — accomplice.”

Sgt. Mark Plumberg with the Island County Sheriff’s Office investigated that June 27, 2014 incident and described it in his report.

The resident said he was at home with two friends when a teenaged friend and Wilson — who he didn’t know — arrived at their home.

The teen left, saying someone was waiting on the road for him. The resident thought that was odd, so he locked the doors and went upstarts. He looked out the window and saw a masked man coming down the driveway.

Wilson denied knowing anything about the masked man but then opened the door for him, allowing him into the house, the report says. The intruder brandished a handgun in each hand and forced the resident and another friend to move into the living room; Wilson was allowed to stand by the front door, Plumberg wrote.

The gunman pointed his gun at the two men and demanded to know where the pot was and “counted down as if to shoot if they did not tell him where the pot was,” Plumberg wrote.

The intruder fired two shots into the couch.

The burglar and Wilson left together, the report said. Neighbors reported seeing either two or three men running down Fakkema Road.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Eric Ohme said the decision to charge Wilson was delayed because he asked the deputies to do follow-up interviews with the suspects, which weren’t completed until recently.

He said the evidence against the teenage suspect was substantially weaker, so he declined to charge him.

If convicted of the charge, Wilson could face more than eight years in prison under the standard sentencing range.