Spokane Police arrest 2 men in connection with July shooting of EWU football players

Spokane Police arrested two men Thursday on charges of attempted murder in the downtown Spokane shooting of two Eastern Washington University football players earlier this summer.

Avery K. Francis, 26, and Anthony J. Carell, 27, were booked into the Spokane County Jail before 5 p.m. Thursday, 42 days after the shooting at the intersection of Main Avenue and Division Street in the early morning hours of July 13. Both men are being held on $500,000 bond after their first appearances on Friday and face multiple charges in the shooting that hospitalized Dehonta Hayes and Keith Moore.

A lawyer for Francis argued Friday to lower the bond because he is a student and has no income.

Moore told police he saw one of the shooters throw up a gang sign during the shooting, according to court documents.

The Spokane Police Department in a news release said there was little information initially about the shooting but that multiple units in the department had been working the case, which included serving several search warrants, for weeks. Hayes told The Spokesman-Review in July he believed the shooting was random and followed a fight in a part of downtown that is home to several popular late night bars.

Hayes and Moore broke up a fight that may have started because Francis and Carell got “gropey” with the girlfriend of an individual as they were leaving a nearby bar, according to court documents.

Moore told police he knew “it was going to happen” and that Carell and Francis “definitely had guns” because of things said after Moore and Hayes broke up the fight, according to court documents.

Francis graduated from Mead High School in 2012. He was previously sentenced to a seven-year term in prison after pleading guilty to six counts of second-degree assault in January 2013, according to court records.

Carell graduated from Rogers High School in 2011. He was sentenced to a little more than four years in prison in June 2013 after pleading guilty to unlawful imprisonment and second-degree assault charges. He is also a registered sex offender with the state of Washington.

Moore is listed as the top defensive tackle on the Eagles’ preseason depth chart released last week. Hayes is the top-rated safety for the team. The Eagles open their season Aug. 31 against the Washington Huskies in Seattle.