Twice convicted killer heading to prison for life after Richland murder

A twice-convicted killer is heading to prison for the rest of his life for shooting man in Richland two years ago.

Antoine R. “Peanut” Surge, 45, was sentenced Monday morning for killing Edree D. Thompson, 20, during an argument outside of the Columbia Park Apartments.

The jury took about a day and a half to find Surge guilty of second-degree murder. The conviction was his “third strike” under the state’s persistent offender sentencing law.

The law requires a life sentence without the possibility of parole for anyone who commits three serious violent crimes, such as murder, assault or rape.

Surge was convicted of second-degree murder in 2002 and then, shortly after his release from prison, was convicted of assault in 2019.

“I don’t think the punishment in this case is either cruel or unusual for the conduct,” Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge said. “When the people of Washington voted to pass the initiative that gave rise to the persistent offender statute, cases like this were exactly what they had in mind.”

Thompson’s father, Edgar Thompson, expressed frustration that Surge would bring a gun to the argument and then shoot his son in front of Edree Thompson’s young daughter.

“He should know better, have more morals than that,” Edgar Thompson said. “He’s not even a man, not even a child. He’s the scum of the Earth. He should not be let out jail. This inmate should be an inmate. That’s all he should be, an inmate number.”

Edgar Thompson said the murder devastated his family, saying his granddaughter says that her father is thinking of her every time it rains.

“He ripped everything from me, took my soul, took a piece of me,” Edgar Thompson said. “All I have now are pictures on the wall.”

Surge’s defense attorney Brian Hultgrenn said the case is not as simple as the prosecution is trying to present.

“This was not an open (and) shut, black (and) white case,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff that went on here. There were a lot of drugs. There was a lot of violence. There was a lot of things that went into this.”

His attorneys argued that Surge should have received a shorter sentence because the “three strikes” law violates the constitution.

“I think we’re past the point in time where there is a moral high ground on the three strikes law,” Hultgrenn said. “The law has changed a lot, since it passed, and it will continue to change.”

While Hultgrenn said Surge wanted to apologize for what happened that night, he was advised not to speak.

Surge, who is appealing his conviction, followed the advice.

While Judge Bronson Brown said he didn’t like when the judge’s discretion was taken away, he said courts have found the “three strikes” law is constitutional.

He pointed out there wasn’t any sentence he could give that would bring Edree Thompson back for his family. He can only hope that, in time, they are able to recover from their loss.

“And I read the doctor’s report on Mr. Surge, and I’d like to let everyone know that we’re dealing with two human beings, of which one made a very poor choice,” he said.

Based on the reports, he said Surge had grown up learning to react to stressful situations impulsively.

“That has probably caused him to do things that he regrets but .... that he can’t take back,” Brown said. “It’s pretty rare that you see a person in front of you that’s now faced with his second count of murder. ... It’s pretty clear to me that .... he isn’t safe to be released into society.”

Columbia Park Apartments shooting

Investigators say Edree Thompson arrived at the Columbia Park Apartments with Melissa Klug to pick up her sister, Christina Cato, who arguing with her boyfriend, Deliyon McCord.

Surge had been with his girlfriend at the apartment complex and was friends with McCord.

The cellphone video that served as key evidence for the prosecution showed a crowd and a chaotic scene in front of the apartment building about 9 p.m. that night in May 2023.

McCord and Thompson started to fight. Then, Surge approached with a gun, said prosecutors.

Before the first shot, McCord allegedly yelled, “Don’t do it. Don’t to it,” before a bang was heard. Thompson started running and the video shows Surge chasing McCord.

Just before a second shot, McCord is heard yelling again. As they rounded a car in the parking lot, Surge fired the fatal shot.

The bullet severed Thompson’s aorta, and he died at the hospital.

This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 6:29 PM.