Tuesday, March 13, 2001

Cramm figure pleads guilty to felony riot

Jauregui eventually led investigators to shooting weapons

By Scott North

Herald Writer

Two men who traded gunfire at a fatal May 30 melee in south Everett were back in court Monday.

John Michael Jauregui, 25, of Everett pleaded guilty to a single count of felony riot for his role in the gunplay that broke out when a fistfight between Dennis Cramm, 18, and another teen escalated into double murder.

During a brief Snohomish County Superior Court hearing, Jauregui admitted shooting an AK-47 in the direction of Anthony Lewis Bovan, 21, who was armed at the time with at least one handgun.

Meanwhile, Bovan, who testified at Cramm's trial that he had shot toward Jauregui, was in court Monday on unrelated matters.

The Everett man was arrested early Friday for investigation of third-degree domestic violence assault at his girlfriend's home, said Jan Jorgensen, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

On Monday, Bovan was ordered jailed without bail pending a March 19 hearing for alleged probation violations. He earlier pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm for his gunplay that night at the Cramm home.

Jauregui was a former Cramm housemate who became a key informant for detectives who investigated the deaths of Jesse Stoner and Jason Thompson, both 18. The young men were among nearly three dozen people who converged on the Cramm home to watch a fistfight. Stoner and Thompson were in the back of a car, trying to leave, when Cramm grabbed an SKS military-style rifle and repeatedly fired into the vehicle. Both were fatally struck. They were unarmed.

Dennis Cramm was convicted Feb. 26 of two counts of first-degree murder. Deputy prosecutor Ed Stemler said Cramm faces a minimum 51 years in prison.

Jauregui told several stories about what happened May 30, initially denying any role in the gunfire. He eventually led law officers to the weapons that were used that night.

Stemler said he'll ask for a 12-month jail sentence for Jauregui, to be served in work release if the defendant is eligible. Sentencing is scheduled for May 10 before Judge Linda Krese.