Officer charged with murder
By ADAM STEWART Staff Reporter
Everett police officer Troy Meade will now face a second-degree murder charge for the line-of-duty fatal shooting of Stanwood resident Niles Meservey on June 10.
Prosecutors added the charge during a hearing on Thursday in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Superior Court Judge Gerald Knight, who is expected to direct the trial, presided over the hearing.
Meade was initially charged with first-degree manslaughter in October.
Prosecution must prove intent to kill without premeditation to prove murder in the second degree.
Jury members will have the option to convict Meade, 41, on either criminal count, or acquit him.
A formal arraignment for the additional charge is expected on the first day of trial, April 9.
Prosecutors allege the officer committed a crime when he shot an intoxicated Meservey, 51, seven times during an incident outside the Chuckwagon Inn in Everett.
In November, Meade pleaded not guilty to felony manslaughter.
Documents filed by Meade’s attorney, David Allen, stated: “Defendant Meade submits that his actions were necessary and reasonable and that he was in imminent danger at the time that he acted in self-defense to protect himself from an assault.”
A second Everett police officer on the scene told investigators that Meservey did not pose an immediate lethal threat.
Staff Reporter Adam Stewart: 629-8066
ext. 115 or astewart@scnews.com.
