Man who died after being shot outside Spokane Valley Jack in the Box identified, suspect jailed

Dennis M. Vezina, 41, has been identified as the man who walked into a Spokane Valley Jack in the Box and died after being shot Saturday afternoon.

Vezina and his girlfriend, Stephanie Unangst, were sitting in the northwest corner of the restaurant’s parking lot at about 3:20 p.m. when she heard a gunshot and saw a man she knew as “Jason” leave the area on a bicycle, she told police.

When she turned around, she couldn’t find her boyfriend, according to court documents.

Deputies responded to the Jack in the Box just before 3:40 p.m. after Vezina walked into the lobby with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was pronounced dead at 4:01 p.m.

After talking to Vezina’s girlfriend, deputies searched a law enforcement database for a “Jason” living in the area. They discovered a Jason Barton who lived on the 2300 block of Hutchinson Road near the restaurant.

Surveillance video from a nearby home shows a man matching Barton’s description riding a bicycle up to the dumpster area and getting off his bike.

Then Vezina emerged and began running away from Barton. That’s when Barton lifted his arm into a horizontal position and a gunshot can be heard, according to court documents.

Vezina was shot in the back, then fell into some bushes nearby, according to court records.

Barton was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and booked into the Spokane County Jail early Sunday morning.

There’s no indication in court documents about what led up to the confrontation in the Jack in the Box parking lot.

Barton remained in jail Tuesday on a $1 million bond.