Exclusive | Shari’s parking lot shooting suspect linked to 7 Tri-Cities drive-bys
Police believe the Kennewick man in jail for shooting a teen in a Tri-Cities restaurant parking lot Friday was involved in several other drive-by shootings in recent weeks.
Adrian Cole was arrested late Friday night at a home on the 1100 block of South Olympia Place after allegedly wounding the teen outside the Shari’s Restaurant on Columbia Center Boulevard.
New court documents obtained by the Tri-City Herald link Cole to at least seven shootings in the Tri-Cities. Police believe that in several of the incidents, he was targeting men wearing red, according to court documents.
Investigators say Cole is a “hang around” for a local gang.
Shari’s shooting
Investigators say that just before 6 p.m. on Friday, a gray Dodge Charger pulled up to two males wearing red in the Bed, Bath and Beyond parking lot, across from the Columbia Center mall.
A passenger wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, black pants and blue shoes got out of the car with an “assault rifle” to confront them.
The men from the Charger then chased the males in red behind the busy Shari’s restaurant and fired five shots.
One round struck the teen in the leg.
Police say the restaurant and parking lot were both full of customers at the time. Dispatch reports indicated that at least two elderly customers who were shaken up by the shooting were treated by EMTs.
The men in the Charger fled and later that night the Tri-Cities SWAT team was mobilized to an Olympia Place home in Kennewick, where Cole was arrested.
Investigators say they have linked Cole’s gray Dodge Charger to several other shootings, as well as bullet casings that were matched via ballistics testing to the gun they believe was used.
After his arrest, Cole told investigators he worked until 5 p.m. on Friday and went home just before 5:30 p.m. and was in bed by 7:30 p.m., according to court documents. He said no one else had driven his vehicle in the past week and a half.
Cole was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of first-degree assault in a drive by shooting. His bail is currently set at $100,000.
Investigators have not named the other man who was believed to have been with Cole, or indicated which of the two is believed to have shot the teen.
Other shootings
Earlier last week investigators say Cole was allegedly seen on video surveillance pulling up to a man wearing red near a home on the 4800 block of West Fourth Avenue and firing six rounds at him.
The man was not struck by the bullets, but a house was hit. According to the court documents, the bullets narrowly missed the residents inside, including children.
Investigators say the Charger also was involved in two other shootings at suspected gang members.
The weapon used also was linked to three other Tri-Cities shootings, including one under investigation in Pasco and another outside the city limits in Benton County. The court documents did not provide details about those shootings.
The ammunition linked to all of the shootings was .223 caliber and 5.56x45mm. While that ammo is commonly used in military-issued assault rifles, the most common use is in AR-15 rifles.
Cole has not yet been charged in the other shootings.
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 11:02 AM.
