Shooter may have had grudge against police
"Robert idolized Gary," said Diana Burow, Gary's sister-in-law. "They used to hang together."
Whether that shooting had any bearing on what happened Sunday at a suspected methamphetamine lab inside a house near Maple Valley may never be known.
Yesterday, authorities identified Gary Burow, 34, of Auburn, as the man who suddenly opened fire on a group of narcotics detectives who had finished serving a search warrant at the house, wounding three. Police officers returned fire and killed Burow.
The King County Medical Examiner's Office yesterday said Burow died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
Police yesterday did not know why Burow started shooting. He arrived on a motorcycle about three hours after the two occupants of the home had been arrested.
"It could very well be that he had a grudge against police officers," said Sgt. Greg Dymerski with the King County Sheriff's Office. "But to say that is the motivation is a stretch at this point. We're still doing our investigation. We don't know what the motivation is right now."
Two of the three wounded King County sheriff's deputies, ages 35 and 36, were upgraded to satisfactory condition yesterday at local hospitals. The third, 29, was still in serious condition following two surgeries; he has two gunshot wounds to his abdomen and upper left arm.
The Sheriff's Office declined to identify the wounded deputies, partly because they are undercover detectives.
Burow was a drifter with multiple addresses in the past several years and a lengthy criminal record that includes assault with a deadly weapon, illegal firearms possession and domestic violence. Police have been looking for Burow since an armed standoff with Auburn officers in May 2001.
During that incident, he became angry at a man who was helping Burow's girlfriend with car trouble. He threatened to kill the man, fired several shots at his girlfriend's car and then barricaded himself inside her house for several hours. After he gave himself up, police found the house stockpiled with guns, knives and surveillance cameras.
He was charged with assault and domestic violence and bailed out of jail. But he didn't show up in court to hear the guilty verdict against him.
"What prompted all of this is hard to say," said Ron Burow of his younger brother's criminal past.
Gary Burow was born in Auburn, grew up in South King County and quit high school before graduating. He kept himself afloat with odd jobs and tried to start a roofing company, even "excelling in it" for a while, Ron Burow said.
But the business didn't work out, and Gary began to be overwhelmed by some personal problems, he said.
It got to the point where "we started to live separate lives," said Ron Burow, 38, of Enumclaw. "I didn't think it was that bad, but shooting police officers is about as bad as you can get."
Ron and Gary Burow hadn't talked much in the past few years.
"It was better if we kept our distance. I didn't want my children to be around him."
Gary Burow took it hard when his stepson died, his family said.
Harrison stole a car on New Year's Eve and led police on a 10-mile chase from Federal Way to Auburn. Officers cornered the car and surrounded it with guns drawn. Harrison drove toward the officers, running over an officer's foot. He was shot in the chest and died.
The King County Sheriff's Office is still investigating what connection Burow had with the couple who lives at the Maple Valley-area house where Sunday's shooting occurred. Their public defender, Theresa Olson, said yesterday there is nothing yet in any police or prosecuting attorney's document that connects Burow to the couple.
One working theory, according to a Sheriff's Office source in the narcotics division, is that Burow was a drug user who was a regular to the property and "came rolling up, perhaps to buy some drugs, or perhaps to visit."
The couple, a 35-year-old man and his 42-year-old girlfriend, have a history of making and selling meth, according to court documents.
They were arrested Sunday for investigation of the same violation, and yesterday a judge set bail for them at $150,000 and $50,000, respectively. They are expected to be charged later this week.
Neighbors of the Maple Valley-area house, in the 24800 block of 208th Avenue Southeast, said yesterday they have long suspected the house was a meth lab.
The house, which sits on a three-acre piece of property at the end of a tree-lined private road, often had up to 20 residents, neighbors said. Some lived inside the home, others in a tent on the lawn and more in a trailer, they said.
Neighbors said they often smelled burning plastic, saw milk cartons that appeared to contain chemicals and witnessed suspicious exchanges of autos. Police suspect the house also was used as an illegal chop shop, where stolen cars were cut up for parts.
"It's been a known problem house for quite a few years," said Sgt. Reid Johnson with the King County Sheriff's Office.
The 65-year-old landlord of the house, a missionary pastor who works in Connecticut, said he felt betrayed by the couple's arrest.
He said the couple moved into the house in June 2000. He took them on the advice of a friend. He began to suspect some drug use about a year ago after neighbors complained. He said he talked to the couple about the problem and thought it was resolved. He dropped in on the property periodically and never saw proof of anything illegal.
He said he started proceedings to have the couple evicted because they hadn't paid rent since the end of last year.
"I tried to be a pastor and a friend to them," said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Now this is happening."
The man and the woman rented a Ravensdale house prior to living near Maple Valley. The landlord there, Linnet Parkins, who lives in Walla Walla, said they trashed her house and burned a trailer on the property. Police raided the house for drugs, and the health department shut it down, Parkins said.
"It went from bad to worse," she said. "It got into such a condition that we couldn't rent it to anybody else. We just said, 'Why don't you leave and let's call it even?' "
Seattle Times staff reporters Brian Moore and Brian Joseph contributed to this report. Michael Ko can be reached at 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com.