Two sex offenders shot dead in Washington

This is to document one (Gary Lee Blanton) of two deaths on this date by the same perpetrator, Patrick Drum (Facebook Account). The story of the other sex offender murdered (Jerry Wayne Ray) is HERE

Note 6-13: See story of this date below "He had obtained names with research he had done with a computer," sheriff's detective Sgt. Lyman Moores said." Accordingly, the registry played a part in these two deaths!

Note: 7-1: Drum, while in jail awaiting prosecution for murder, stabbed another RSO with a makshift instrument.

Note: 12-4-13: See Followup story on Patrick Drum.

6-4-2012 Washington:

PORT ANGELES, Wash. -- A man with a reported hatred of sex offenders was arrested Sunday in Port Angeles for allegedly killing two men, both registered sex offenders.

Patrick Drum, 34, was arrested after a three-and-a-half-hour manhunt in dense woods with the help of dozens of law enforcement officers and a police helicopter.

Victims Jerry Wayne Ray, 56, and Gary Lee Blanton, 28, were found dead from gunshot wounds earlier at two separate houses.

Detectives said evidence from the crime scenes indicated Drum had an animosity toward sex offenders. The Associated Press reported a note was left behind in which Drum stated he hated sex offenders and "it had to be done."

Ray and Blanton were both Level II sex offenders.

The situation began early Sunday when Clallam County Sheriff's deputies found Ray dead in a home at 31 Heuhslein Road.

At the same time, a suspicious person report on Blue Mountain Road between Sequim and Port Angeles led detectives to an abandoned car. Inside the car, detectives said a note tied Drum to Ray's death.

Further evidence pointed officers to a house in Sequim, located at 5011 Sequim Dungeness Way, where Blanton's body was found.

A suspect search was launched, which eventually uncovered Drum in an area near Gellor Road and Blue Mountain Road.

Detectives said Drum knew both Ray and Blanton. Blanton recently moved into the house on Sequim Dungeness Way rented by Drum. ..Source.. by KING 5 News

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Two sex offenders shot dead in Washington

PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Sheriff's Office arrested Patrick B. Drum, 34, of Sequim on Sunday in connection with the murder of two registered sex offenders with whom he was acquainted. Sheriff W.L. Benedict said that according to evidence, Drum had a "particular animus toward sex offenders."

Early Sunday morning, authorities responded to 31 Heuhslein Road, East of Port Angeles. They found Jerry Wayne Ray, 57, dead of gunshot wounds in the woods.

At about the same time, deputies responded to a suspicious person near a house at milepost 6 on Blue Mountain Road, south of State Route 101 between Sequim and Port Angeles. There they found an abandoned car, and in it a note that tied the car's driver, Drum, to the crime scene where Ray was found dead.

Multiple agencies were called in to set up a containment that included a helicopter and a pair of K9 units. Drum was eventually captured in a densely forested area, after a man saw him and reported him to police. He was hiding in a shed.

During the search for Drum, police gathered evidence that led them to a second crime scene. There they found Gary Blanton, 28, dead from gunshot wounds. Blanton rented a room from Drum.

He was captured without incident in a woodshed off Blue Mountain Road after a resident spotted him. Drum had been considered armed and dangerous. Local residents were instructed via a reverse 911 system to stay inside and lock doors and windows.

"Scared, this little community," said Port Angeles resident Maxine King. 'We don`t want anybody like that to invade us. Drum is being held in Clallam County Jail in Port Angeles. ..Source.. by Kirsten Joyce Q13 FOX News Online

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Man suspected in slayings of 2 sex offenders

The Clallam County sheriff says a man suspected of shooting two sex offenders to death left a note saying he hated sex offenders and "it had to be done."

Sheriff Bill Benedict says investigators believe Patrick Drum shot Gary Lee Blanton on Saturday night at a home Drum was renting near Sequim. Blanton was renting a room in the home.

Benedict says Drum then drove to the home of Jerry Wayne Ray in the nearby Agnew area where he was killed.

The sheriff says Drum abandoned a rental car and reports of a suspicious man in the area Sunday led deputies to respond. The note in the car led to the victims and identified Drum as a suspect.

He was tracked and arrested in a wooded area after a 3-hour manhunt that included officers of the Sheriff's Office, U.S. Border Patrol, State Patrol, Port Angeles and Sequim police departments, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state Fish and Wildlife plus a helicopter from the federal Customs and Border Patrol agency, the Peninsula Daily News reported. ..Source.. by DOUG ESSER

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Second body found in Sequim; suspect remains in jail

PORT ANGELES -- Clallam County sheriff's deputies are now saying that two homicides were committed Sunday at separate locations, and that the 34-year-old man they believe committed both killings remains in Clallam County jail today.

Patrick B. Drum is being held for investigation into the slayings of Jerry Wayne Ray, 56, and Gary Lee Blanton, 28, both of whom the Clallam County Sheriff's Office said were Level III registered sex offenders, according to a statement issued by the Sheriff's Office.

Ray's body was found with multiple gunshot wounds at 31 Heuhslein Road in the Agnew area east of Port Angeles, the statement said.

Not long after that discovery Sunday morning, deputies responded to a suspicious-person call on Blue Mountain Road about six miles south of U.S. Highway 101 between Sequim and Port Angeles. There, deputies found an abandoned car with a note that tied the car's driver and suspicious person, Drum, to the Heuhslein Road crime scene, according to deputies.

Following a 3.5-hour manhunt that included officers of the Sheriff's Office, U.S. Border Patrol, State Patrol, Port Angeles and Sequim police departments, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state Fish and Wildlife plus a helicopter from the federal Customs and Border Patrol agency, Drum was captured near Milepost 0.6 on Geillor Road east of Blue Mountain Road.

The area is densely forested with many ravines and wetlands.

During the search for Drum, investigators acted on a tip and Sequim police units entered a residence at 5011 Sequim-Dungeness Way and found Blanton dead of several gunshot wounds.

Investigators said Drum knew both victims and had a "particular animus" toward sex offenders. He recently moved into the Sequim-Dungeness Way house rented by Drum.

More details are expected this afternoon. ..Source.. by Peninsula Daily News

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No bail: WA man accused of killing 2 sex offenders

6-5-2012 Washington:

A Washington man accused of fatally shooting two convicted sex offenders on the Olympic Peninsula indicated he didn't plan to stop with two, a prosecutor told a judge on Monday.

A Washington man accused of fatally shooting two convicted sex offenders on the Olympic Peninsula indicated he didn't plan to stop with two, a prosecutor told a judge on Monday.

Patrick Drum, 34, of Sequim, remained jailed without bail after a Clallam County Superior Court hearing.

A signed note Drum left in a rental car said he hated sex offenders and "it had to be done," the county sheriff said Monday.

Drum was arrested Sunday for investigation of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the weekend deaths of Gary Lee Blanton Jr., 28, and Jerry W. Ray, 56.

The arrested man "had stated his intent not to stop with two victims but to continue as long as he could until he was stopped by law enforcement," County Prosecutor Deb Kelly told Judge George Wood, according to the Peninsula Daily News.

A probable cause statement from the sheriff's office said "Drum also stated that he had intended on driving to Jefferson County where another sex offender resided, with the intent to kill him, too."

"Frankly, I'm concerned about the vigilante aspect," Kelly said.

Kelly told the judge she plans to seek charges of aggravated first-degree murder.

Drum, who yawned repeatedly during the hearing, told the judge he wanted to defend himself.

An aggravated murder conviction would carry the possibility of a death sentence. Wood appointed a lawyer to represent Drum.

A bail hearing was scheduled Wednesday.

A convicted felon, Drum is known to police in Sequim and Port Angeles as well as Clallam County deputies, Sheriff Bill Benedict said. The man served four years for drug-related offenses at the state penitentiary in Walla Walla, the newspaper reported.

At a news conference, the sheriff warned anyone considering continuing the violence.

"Anyone who is interested in taking things into their own hands and deciding to attack sex offenders in the community, we will deal with them very strongly," Benedict said.

Investigators say Drum shot Blanton on Saturday night at a home Drum was renting near Sequim. Blanton was renting a room in the home.

Drum then drove to Ray's home a few miles away where Ray was killed early Sunday morning, Benedict said.

For some reason, authorities say, Drum abandoned a rental car he had been driving and was seen on foot in the remote area of the northern Olympic Peninsula. Reports of a suspicious man in the area Sunday led deputies to respond. They found the car and the note inside that led to the victims and identified Drum as a suspect.

The note was "apologizing to police for what he had done," Benedict said, and it said, "It had to be done."

Drum was arrested after a manhunt involving about 65 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies. Dozens of officers responded to the area, and Drum was tracked down by a dog team and flushed out of a wooded area by a Customs and Border Protection helicopter Sunday.

Drum knew both men were sex offenders. Both were shot multiple times, the sheriff said, adding Drum was armed with a 9mm pistol when he was arrested.

"He took full responsibility for `taking care of some problems,'" Benedict said Monday. ..Source.. by DOUG ESSER

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Vigilante justice is anything but

6-4-2012:

For the record, it didn’t have to be done.

I refer to the fatal shooting of two sex offenders, Gary Blanton and Jerry Ray, on the Olympic Peninsula over the weekend. The Trib report details a brief killing spree allegedly planned and carried out by one Patrick Drum, who left a message inside his abandoned car stating “it had to be done.”

If “it” refers to killing, a highly likely assumption, then I strongly disagree.

This story has already generated comments praising Drum for allegedly killing two people. The reason is clear – when it comes to sex offenders the mob is quick to reach for pitchforks and torches.

It is easy to understand the scorn our society holds for those who prey on the bodies and souls of the most vulnerable among us. When I have been required to interview these sleazy degenerates, the term that would best describe this experience (at least one suitable for newsprint) would be revulsion. Extreme revulsion.

Sure, plenty of people may want to cheer when two felons, convicted of sex crimes, get what their killer considers their due. That, however, is an instinct better left for those species below us on the food chain.

Vigilante killing is a violation of every painful step our society has taken towards a fair judicial process. We are still taking those steps, because obviously our system is not the blind and objective pinnacle of justice to which all men and women can turn. We have a long way to go towards that point, but we have made much progress over the years.

Our criminal justice system views the taking of a life as the consummate expression of inhumanity. Perhaps more to the point, homicide is an act of utter hopelessness. This might be better understood by people who have actually witnessed the act or aftermath of violent death. From that perspective the lifeless form of another human being is a visceral and stark reality. In the case of a homicide scene, the killer’s presence is as palpable as the body itself. It is a shocking and abhorrent image.

Such were my thoughts when I read the article on the Olympic peninsula killings, which included reader comments such as, “the gene pool needs a little cleaning.” The only real message in this piece of misplaced bravado is the depressing sense that life has little value, a theme we typically attribute to third world countries.

Our justice system, for all its faults, is the product of our collective will, and it was created to repudiate this notion. Life is sacred and people deserve a chance to defend themselves from the presumptive judgment of one person.

Now that he has been arrested for homicide, Patrick Drum should consider that fact. ..Source.. by Brian O'Neill

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Two sex offenders shot dead in Clallam County

6-4--20012:

PORT ANGELES – Police in Clallam County say the man accused of killing two sex offenders may have been planning at least one other in a neighboring county.

Clallam County Detective Sergeant Lyman Moores said Patrick Drum, 34, shot and killed the two men at two different homes sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Police said Drum, a convicted felon, was spotted around 6:30 Sunday morning, in an area around Blue Mountain Road near Port Angeles. A homeowner had called police to say Drum was on their porch and acting strange.

The call came around the same time the wife of Gary Blanton called police to say she feared for her husband’s well being. Blanton, a registered sex offender, had recently moved in with Drum.

After a massive manhunt involving dozens of deputies in the dense woods near Port Angeles, police captured Drum. They say he admitted shooting killing Blanton and another registered sex offender named Jerry Ray outside Port Angeles.

Moores said Drum admitted he killed both because of their sex offender status.

"He has made a statement to detectives that these two were sex offenders and that was the motivation," said Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict.

Detectives said Drum intended to kill a third sex offender in Jefferson County, but they gave few clues as to why he chose the men. Detectives were looking for a computer Drum may have recently sold to see if he was researching his victims.

Moores said a rental car, registered to Drum, was found on Blue Mountain Road. It contained an empty box of 9mm bullets and a note expressing he was “sorry for the disturbances.” Police said there were empty 9mm casings near Blanton’s body, and Drum was carrying a 9mm handgun at the time of his arrest.

Neighbors of both the murdered men in the rural part of the Olympic Peninsula were reluctant to say what they thought of the vigilante action, but the county's top cop dismissed any other notion besides cold premeditated murder.

"Anyone who is taking justice in to their own hands and attacking sex offender in this community, we'll take care of them very, very strongly," said Benedict.

Drum has a lengthy criminal history, which includes drugs and assault. He is being held on $2 million bail, pending likely murder charges later this week. ..Source.. by King5 News

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Wife of slain sex offender: 'Nobody has any compassion'

6-5-2012:

The wife of a convicted sex offender who was targeted and killed over the weekend said Tuesday she’s sickened by people who have called the man accused in the crime a hero.

Gary Blanton was one of two sex offenders shot and killed by Patrick Drum in Clallam County, investigators said.

“My husband wasn’t a predator,” Leslie Blanton said. “My husband was the victim of a horrible murder and nobody has any compassion about that. They don’t care.”

In a statement, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said evidence suggested that Drum “had a particular animus towards sex offenders.” Police said Drum wanted to kill more of them.

“My husband’s a good man,” Leslie Blanton said. “He’s been there for us, and now we don’t have him and he’ll never come home.”

She said her and her husband, who was a Level 2 sex offender, have two children who will now never know their father.

“He’s not God,” Leslie Blanton said of Drum. “He doesn’t get to decide when people get to live and die. What kind of hero makes babies victims? ‘Cause that’s what my kids are now.”

Drum remains locked up in the Clallam County Jail. ..Source.. by KIROTV.com

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Man accused of killing sex offenders due in court

6-13-2012: In the morning

The suspect accused of killing two Clallam County sex offenders purely because of their status will be in court Wednesday to answer to charges.

Patrick Drum, 34, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, accused of shooting and killing Gary Blanton and Jerry Ray, both Level Two sex offenders.

Officers said Drum sought out Ray, 56, and Blanton, 29, at their homes. Blanton had recently just moved into a house in Sequim with Drum.

After Drum was arrested in the woods between Sequim and Port Angeles, Clallam County Sheriff's deputies said the convicted felon may have been planning to kill another sex offender in nearby Jefferson County.

Drum has a lengthy criminal history, including drugs and assault. ..Source.. by KING 5 News

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Judge refuses attempted guilty plea in killings

6-13-2012 Washington: In the PM after court:

A Washington man charged with aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of two convicted sex offenders was prevented from pleading guilty Wednesday — although he tried.

"I don't need this court," Patrick Drum, 34, of the Olympic Peninsula town of Sequim, told Clallam County Superior Court Judge Ken Williams. "I'm guilty. I want to plead guilty."

The judge told Drum that under state law, he could not yet accept that plea, the Peninsula Daily News reported (http://is.gd/blJZKl ).

Williams noted County Prosecutor Deb Kelly has said she's considering whether to seek the death penalty. She has another 30 days from Wednesday's arraignment to make that decision.

Aggravated murder is punishable in Washington by either death or life in prison without parole.

Gary Lee Blanton Jr. and Jerry W. Ray were killed in separate shootings earlier this month. The county sheriff has said a signed note Drum left in a rental car said he hated sex offenders and "it had to be done."

Drum's attempted plea surprised both Kelly and Drum's court-appointed lawyer, Karen Unger.

"I don't recall ever having a murder defendant try to plead guilty at an arraignment," said Kelly, who has worked in the county prosecutor's office for 22 years.

Drum told Williams he wanted to represent himself. He said the same thing at an earlier hearing to a different judge, but that judge appointed Unger to represent him. Unger said Drum had not told her about his plan to plead guilty.

A probable cause statement from the sheriff's office, filed earlier with the court, said Drum had stated he planned to drive to nearby Jefferson County and kill another sex offender there.

"He had obtained names with research he had done with a computer," sheriff's detective Sgt. Lyman Moores said Wednesday.

Investigators say Drum shot Blanton, 28, on the night of June 2 at a home Drum was renting. Blanton was renting a room in the home.

Drum then drove to Ray's home a few miles away where Ray, 56, was killed early on June 3, Sheriff Bill Benedict has said.

For some reason, Drum abandoned a rental car he had been driving and was seen on foot in the remote area of the northern Olympic Peninsula. Reports of a suspicious man in the area brought deputies, who found the car and the note inside that led to the victims and identified Drum as a suspect. Drum was arrested later on June 3.

State Corrections Department records show Drum has served time for convictions that include burglary and drug possession. ..Source.. by Palm Beach Post

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Patrick Drum Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murdering Sex Offenders Gary Blanton, Jerry Ray

9-19-2012:

A man who killed two registered sex offenders in Washington this summer, because he said "it had to be done," was sentenced to life without parole for the vigilante murders yesterday.

Patrick Drum, 34, first killed his roommate, 28-year-old Gary Blanton in their Sequim home on June 2. After shooting Blanton, Drum drove to Jerry Ray's house, killing him the following morning.

Witnesses called authorities to report seeing a suspicious man in a wooded area of the Olympic Peninsula. The search turned up a rental car abandoned by Drum and containing a note assuming responsibility for "taking care of some problems," the Associated Press reported.

The note also said "it had to be done," according to Fox News.

Police used dogs to track Drum down, ending a three-hour manhunt. Once captured by officers, Drum told a detective he gunned down the two men "because they were sex offenders," and would have killed more if he hadn't been stopped, NBC News said.

Blanton was found dead inside the padlocked home he shared with Drum. Blanton had been convicted of rape as a teenager. His wife claimed that he'd been falsely convicted for having consensual sex with a freshman when he was a senior in high school, the Sequim Gazette reported.

Ray pleaded guilty in 2002 to raping a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old, the Gazette said.

Drum has a previous criminal record too, including convictions for burglary and drug charges, Reuters reported.

Attention from the killing earned Drum the support of some fans who have stalked the Blantons' home and spat on them, Blanton's wife said, according to KOMO.

“It was never my intent to hurt the families involved," Drum said in court, according to the Peninsula Daily News. "That's like collateral damage."

There was extra security on hand in the courtroom Tuesday to protect Drum, Fox News reported. ..Source.. by Michael McLaughlin