Local News: Friday, June 02, 2000

Boy jailed in teens' death

Mariner student surrenders, faces murder charges

By SCOTT NORTH and WARREN CORNWALL Herald Writers

EVERETT -- Less than five months ago, Dennis J. Cramm was hauled out of his home for angrily threatening to shoot his own mother to death.

On Thursday, the 17-year-old Mariner High School student was behind bars, suspected of taking not one life, but two.

The teen surrendered to authorities Thursday afternoon. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail in Everett on investigation of two counts of second-degree murder connected to the Tuesday slaying of Jesse Stoner and Jason Thompson, both 18.

Cramm's father, Dale, 44, also was arrested a few hours later, for investigation of drug possession.

The young Cramm is suspected of having grabbed an SKS assault rifle Tuesday evening and spraying bullets into the back of a car that was driving away from his south Everett-area home, said Jan Jorgensen, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

The gunplay reportedly came after a fight at the Cramm home involving the teen and an unknown number of other young people.

There are all sorts of stories circulating about what happened, and while "a lot of people are talking, a lot of what they said didn't make sense" based on what the evidence shows detectives, Jorgensen said.

"At this time I don't think we have any indications that it was gang-related or race-related," she added.

Because of the seriousness of the allegations, state law requires the younger Cramm be treated as an adult, said Jim Townsend, Snohomish County's chief criminal deputy prosecutor.

Dennis Cramm is expected to make a first appearance this afternoon in Everett District Court. He was being jailed Thursday evening in lieu of $200,000 bail.

The teen surrendered to sheriff's detectives in part to show that he does not represent a risk of flight, said his attorney, Royce Ferguson of Everett.

Ferguson said that his client has at this point declined to be interviewed by police, but based on what he's been told, a lot of what triggered the gunplay has yet to be aired.

"The case isn't solved or anything, and from what I've heard I don't think it is over," he said.

Ferguson said Dennis Cramm gets A's and B's in school and has told him that he is athletic and involved in sports.

The teen also has been struggling with drugs and on May 4 was sentenced to receive drug treatment and counseling after being convicted as a juvenile for intimidating a witness, Ferguson said.

Court papers show the case stemmed from a Jan. 23 domestic violence incident at the Cramm home, during which a glass window was punched out and the teen hit and threatened to kill his mother for calling to report the assault.

Some of the threats were made in front of deputies, who included what they heard in reports that were filed with the juvenile court.

"Dennis stated in my presence to his father, 'Tell her she's dead. I'm going to blow her head off for calling the police when I get out. There's nothing you, the police or anyone else will be able to do to stop me.' (Or words to that effect)," one deputy wrote.

The youth also reportedly resisted arrest and had to be carried "hobbled" to the patrol car, according to court papers. Deputies took a shotgun, loaded with four rounds, from the home that day.

The teen's mother recently moved out of the home. Standing Thursday outside the small, one-story wooden house, the boy's father, Dale Cramm, would say little about his son or what happened Tuesday evening. The elder Cramm said attorneys had advised him not to discuss it.

"I'm dying to tell you," said the small, weathered man with close-cropped, graying hair.

He said press accounts of the incidents surrounding the shootings hadn't told the whole story. He refused to elaborate, but pointed to a bruise by his left eye, and lifted his shirt to reveal a white bandage wrapped around his torso.

"This is what it's about," he said.

A short time later, Dale Cramm was under arrest. He was among those inside the home about 5:15 p.m. when police were summoned by a 911 call reporting that there was a carload of people in the area making threats, Jorgensen said. The people inside the home told emergency dispatchers that they were arming themselves with shotguns for protection, she added.

The car was gone when deputies arrived, and law officers took the elder Cramm into custody without incident. He was arrested for investigation of possession of heroin and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

A small amount of drugs were found in the home when law officers searched it after Tuesday's shooting, Jorgensen said.

She also said a number of firearms were seized, including the weapon believed used in the killings, but she declined to discuss what types of firearms were there or how many.

Jorgensen said detectives continue to investigate reports that others engaged in gunplay Tuesday but added that they still have many people they need to interview. She also left open the possibility for more arrests.

Neighbors fielded questions from reporters throughout the day.

Joanne Martino, who said she has lived three houses away from the Cramm home for years, said the younger Cramm was nice as a kid, even teaching her daughter how to ride a bike.

"He was an OK kid. But we could tell as he got older, especially in the last few years, he was getting kind of wild," she said.