On the afternoon of September 2, 2023, Dennis M. Vezina, 41, was shot in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box in Spokane Valley. Around 3:20 p.m. the girlfriend heard a single gunshot; she saw a man she knew as Jason riding away on a bicycle. Vezina, who had been struck in the chest, walked into the restaurant lobby and collapsed. Deputies arrived before 3:40 p.m. and he was pronounced dead at 4:01 p.m.

Investigators identified Jason Barton from the girlfriend’s identification and neighborhood surveillance. The footage shows a man matching Barton’s description ride to the dumpster area, get off his bike, then Vezina emerging and running away; the man then raises an arm and a gunshot is heard. Barton was arrested the next morning on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Phone records and text messages later tied 44-year-old Kenneth Griffey to the case; messages show Griffey knew of Barton’s lethal intent and Griffey went to Barton’s home afterward to retrieve a backpack containing a firearm. Is anyone in the Spokane Valley area able to add details about Vezina’s last movements or the man known as Jason?