Two Jailed For Brutal Murder Of Okanogan County Man
Two men are behind bars in connection to what police in Okanogan County are calling a brutal murder near the town of Tonasket.
The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office says deputies responded to reports of an unresponsive man who was lying face down along North Pine Creek Road at around 8:30 a.m. on July 24, and arrived at the scene to find a deceased male.
The man was quickly identified as Joseph Dagnon, whose body showed signs of being battered and whose residence in Tonasket was also rapidly established as a secondary crime scene.
Through their investigation, police learned of two male suspects who were believed to be involved in the homicide and, at around 5 p.m. the same day, attempted to make contact with both of them at a home in the Oroville area off U.S. Highway 97.
Officers were able to quickly detain one of the men at the residence, while the other fled on foot but was soon located nearby with the help of a drone.
Police arrested 43-year-old Pedro Lopez and 35-year-old Jorge Gurolla-Garcia, both of Tonasket, and booked them into the Okanogan County Jail, where Lopez is facing charges of first-degree murder and Gurolla-Garcia is accused of being an accessory to both homicide and kidnapping.
The Sheriff's Office says the investigation is ongoing and more information will be provided as it becomes available.