Police & Fire

Third suspect named in killing of Port Orchard man

A felony arrest warrant has been issued for a third suspect, and second Gig Harbor man, in a Port Orchard murder last week, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday evening.

Eli M. Gregory, who frequents the Key Peninsula area and rural South Kitsap, was charged by Kitsap County prosecutors Monday with accomplice to first-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Tyrone Sero, who was allegedly shot while selling a pound of marijuana to the suspects. Bail was set at $1 million.

A murder warrant has been issued for Eli Gregory, who is known to frequent Key Peninsula. Photo courtesy of Kitsap County Sheriff's Office

Gregory, 18, is a white man who stands 6 feet, 5 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. He should be considered armed and dangerous.

The sheriff’s office asks anybody with information about Gregory’s whereabouts to call 911. Don’t attempt to contact him. Those who want to remain anonymous can make a tip at www.CrimeStoppers.com or on the P3Tips app.

Eli Gregory

Kitsap County sheriff’s investigators allege that Gregory was in the vehicle when Sero was seen leaving an AM/PM in Port Orchard early Wednesday and helped dispose of Sero’s remains in Mason County.

On Thursday evening, Kannon Stephens, 19, of Gig Harbor turned himself in at the sheriff’s office and confessed to shooting and killing Sero, according to charging documents. Karlen Talent, 20, of Port Orchard, was arrested Thursday night at the Burley Store in South Kitsap. They pleaded not guilty in Kitsap Superior Court Friday afternoon. They are in Kitsap County Jail on $1 million bail, Stephens for Murder 1 and Talent for accomplice to Murder 1.

Stephens had arranged via Snapchat to meet Sero Tuesday at the AM/PM store on Lund Avenue in Port Orchard to purchase the pot, according to charging documents. The two, who didn’t know each other, had a disagreement and the deal fell through. They continued to negotiate online and agreed to meet again at the Kitsap Community Resource building behind the AM/PM.

At 12:40 a.m. Wednesday, security video shows Sero, who had been driven by a friend, walking to a Toyota 4Runner where he sat in the front passenger seat. After closing the door, he struggled with someone and appeared to be pulled into the backseat. The 4Runner sped out of the parking lot. Sero’s driver said he heard a sound like a firecracker going off, according to documents.

Sero’s friends and family members heard about the possible kidnapping and demanded to see the video of the first meeting. They spread the photo of the 4Runner on social media and spoke to Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies.

A large group of friends and family members tracked down Stephens’ Sullivan Avenue address south of Gig Harbor and arrived at the home where they thought Sero was being held. A confrontation occurred between Stephens and his family and Sero’s friends and family with several gunshots being fired by both sides. One of Sero’s friends was shot and taken to St. Anthony Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the report.

Stephens told investigators that he and Talent and a third suspect met Sero at Sero’s apartment near the AM/PM to buy pot. Stephens said he was lying down hiding in the back cargo area of the 4Runner and was armed with a handgun. Talent was in the driver’s seat and the other friend was in the front passenger seat.

He said Sero was in the backseat and asked if they had the money. After he was shown the money, Sero pulled out a gun and demanded the cash. Stephens said he heard a commotion and a gunshot from Sero’s gun. He said he got up and saw Talent leaving the car and thought Sero had shot Talent. In defense of his friend, he shot Sero in the back of the head, Stephens said.

Stephens’ statement doesn’t coincide with the video, according to the report. It appears Sero was kidnapped and murdered almost instantly after getting into the 4Runner.

The three suspects drove Sero’s body to an undeveloped property near Matlock in Mason County, where they tried to burn it in a fire pit. Stephens went back the next day and put the remains in three bags, two of which he threw in a nearby river. He kept the third bag in his car and drove back home to Gig Harbor.

Stephens later showed detectives the site near Matlock and allowed them to seize his bloody clothes and the gun supposedly used by Sero from his home. They also impounded his Toyota Corolla that he said had the third bag in its trunk. The 4Runner, which had blood in it, was found at the Gig Harbor Albertsons parking lot.