Drugs floated as possible motive for North Kitsap murder as search continues for 2 men
A witness who linked two men to the killing of a man at a North Kitsap residence early Tuesday morning said the victim had been trying to hide before his assailants broke in and attacked him, according to court documents. The victim — identified as 38-year-old Brandon Lyle Egeler, of Bremerton — was shot and eventually succumbed to his injuries and died.
Prosecutors have charged both of the alleged attackers, Caleb Ray Sloan, 29, of Bremerton, and Aksel Jon Strom, 26, of Port Orchard, with a count of second-degree murder and a count of first-degree burglary in Kitsap County Superior Court, and warrants have been issued for their arrests.
Kitsap County Sheriff's Office Lt. Ken Dickinson said Wednesday afternoon that investigators were reviewing tips and actively searching for the two men.
Deputies were brought to a property on Lincoln Road, just outside Poulsbo city limits, after a man who lived in a travel trailer there called 911 at about 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday frantically reporting that his friend had been shot at his residence, a Kitsap County sheriff's detective wrote in a report.
The reporting party was interviewed by investigators, and the man explained that he had arrived home around midnight and found several people there, including Egeler, before he went to bed and fell asleep. He woke up to the sound of pounding on the front door and heard someone say, "If you don't open the door it's gonna get ugly," the detective wrote. The man then said Egeler came into his bedroom and asked for help in hiding.
The man reported that the window of the trailer door was then broken out and Strom and Sloan entered. He heard someone say, "You wanna talk s--- now?" and then the two began to beat Egeler as he was trying to fight them off. The man said both assaulted Egeler and described the man being hit in the legs by a collapsible baton. The man, who said he had been curled up on the bed in a fetal position with his small dog, heard a shot and either Strom or Sloan say "Oh s---" and then the two quickly left the trailer. The witness then found Egeler bleeding and called 911.
A .45 caliber shell casing and projectile were later found in the trailer where the witness described the attack.
The witness also said that two nights prior, Strom had pointed a gun at him when Strom and Sloan had come to the trailer looking for Egeler, according to court documents.
"(He) said a possible reason for the fighting between Aksel, Caleb and Brandon was that someone thought Brandon had 500 grams of fentanyl," the detective wrote. "Brandon did reportedly claim to have fentanyl as a joke, but it was taken seriously. (He) said he doesn't think Brandon possessed any large amounts of fentanyl."
Anyone with information about the location of the two men may contact investigators by calling 911 or by sending an email to kcsotips@kitsap.gov.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Kitsap murder suspects charged, search for both men continues
