First Court Appearance for Man Arrested in Connection with Killing of Three

Brent Luyster, who was arrested Saturday in connection with the shooting of four people — three of whom where killed — smiled at the cameras as he made his first court appearance on Monday.

He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.

The drama started around 10:20 Friday night.

Police officers in Woodland, Washington, received a call to head to the AM/PM convenience store on CC Street.

There they found a woman who had been shot in the face.

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She was so badly injured that she could not speak.

She was able to use notes — writing on a tissue box — to tell them that the shooting had happened nearby, inside a house on the 4000 block of NW 417th Street.

"pretty sure Brent Lyster Luyster," she wrote. "He's in big trouble."

Within the hour, police officers and deputies from the Clark County Sheriff's Office were in the house standing over three dead bodies.

All had been shot in the head.

Lamar and Thompson were found in the driveway. Knight was lying on a couch inside.

In court Monday, the murdered victims were identified as Joseph Lamar, Janell Knight and Zach Thompson.

The woman who survived is Breanne Leigh. Thompson is the father of her children.

A manhunt was started for Luyster — a man with a violent past and associated with a white supremacist gang.

Around 4:15 Saturday afternoon, Luyster — driving a gold Ford Explorer on the Ocean Beach Highway — was taken into custody without incident.

Detectives say they are trying to figure out what exactly happened to lead him to shoot four people, killing three.

This is not Luyster's first arrest.

Public records indicate he was arrested in May after he allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of his child.

When they responded to the call, officers heard gunfire coming from the woods behind the house and thought they were being fired upon.

They eventually talked Luyster into surrendering.

In October 2014, he pleaded guilty to rioting with a weapon after threatening to kill an interracial couple at a bar.

In 2005, he was arrested by Vancouver Police on allegations of malicious harassment.

The Anti-Defamation League wrote about Luyster and his brother, Robert, in May 2013, saying "they have a long history of white supremacy and criminal activity."

That came after the two were arrested for a racial attack at a bar in Vancouver.

Luyster was ordered held without bail.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 1.