Shooter Who Killed Two, Wounded Three At Gorge Amphitheater Receives 70-Year Prison Sentence

A soldier at Washington's Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term for killing two people and injuring three others in a shooting at the Gorge Amphitheater in George three years ago.

The U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel says 29-year-old fire support specialist James M. Kelly received the 70-year sentence after pleading guilty to charges of murder, the reckless discharge of a firearm, wrongful use and possession of psilocybin, and domestic violence at a special court-martial held from Nov. 2-5 at the Cascade Court Complex at JBLM.

Army officials say Kelly committed the shootings while attending a festival at the popular concert venue on June 17, 2023, where he took hallucinogenic mushrooms prior to the act that resulted in the deaths of 29-year-old Brandy Escamilla and 26-year-old Josilyn Ruiz - both of Seattle.

Both women had been passing by Kelly's campsite at The Gorge when they were gunned down, along with 31-year-old Andrew Cuadra of Eugene, Ore., who was wounded but survived the attack.

Kelly also injured 61-year-old Lori Williams when he shot at an ATV that was carrying three security personnel at the scene, and fired two rounds into the lower body of his girlfriend, whose name has never been released by authorities, injuring her.

Officers with the Moses Lake Police Department who were working a paid security detail at the venue shot and wounded Kelly, who was then arrested and initially booked into the Grant County Jail.

In February, Kelly's case was transferred to the Army at the request of the Grant County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

In addition to the 840-month term at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Kelly's military rank was reduced to E-1, and he received a dishonorable discharge from the Army.