From: KOMO News http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Man-suspected-in-slayings-of-2-sex-offenders-156991795.html
Sheriff: Man who gunned down sex offenders said it 'had to be done'
By DOUG ESSER The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) - A man suspected of shooting two sex offenders to death on the Olympic Peninsula left a note saying he hated sex offenders and "it had to be done," the Clallam County sheriff said Monday.
Investigators say Patrick Drum, 34, shot Gary Lee Blanton, 28, on Saturday night at a home Drum was renting near Sequim. Blanton was renting a room in the home.
Drum then drove to the home of Jerry Wayne Ray, 57, in the Agnew area near Port Angeles where Ray was killed early Sunday morning, Clallam County Sheriff Bill 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."
"He took full responsibility for 'taking care of some problems,'" Benedict said Monday.
Drum knew both men were sex offenders. Both were shot multiple times, the sheriff said.
Dozens of officers responded to the area. Drum was tracked down by a dog team and flushed out of a wooded area by a Customs and Border Protection helicopter Sunday after a manhunt that lasted more than three hours. He was armed with a 9mm pistol, Benedict said.
Drum was jailed in Port Angeles for investigation of murder with an initial court date expected Monday afternoon. Drum has an extensive criminal record and is known to police in Sequim and Port Angeles as well as to Clallam County deputies, Benedict said.
The sheriff wouldn't speculate on what prompted the shootings over the weekend.
"It appears in my mind what went on was somewhat planned," he said.
The sheriff's office online record of sex offenders shows Blanton was convicted in November 2001 of third-degree rape. Ray was convicted in August 2002 of child rape.
Investigators say Patrick Drum, 34, shot Gary Lee Blanton, 28, on Saturday night at a home Drum was renting near Sequim. Blanton was renting a room in the home.
Drum then drove to the home of Jerry Wayne Ray, 57, in the Agnew area near Port Angeles where Ray was killed early Sunday morning, Clallam County Sheriff Bill 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."
"He took full responsibility for 'taking care of some problems,'" Benedict said Monday.
Drum knew both men were sex offenders. Both were shot multiple times, the sheriff said.
Dozens of officers responded to the area. Drum was tracked down by a dog team and flushed out of a wooded area by a Customs and Border Protection helicopter Sunday after a manhunt that lasted more than three hours. He was armed with a 9mm pistol, Benedict said.
Drum was jailed in Port Angeles for investigation of murder with an initial court date expected Monday afternoon. Drum has an extensive criminal record and is known to police in Sequim and Port Angeles as well as to Clallam County deputies, Benedict said.
The sheriff wouldn't speculate on what prompted the shootings over the weekend.
"It appears in my mind what went on was somewhat planned," he said.
The sheriff's office online record of sex offenders shows Blanton was convicted in November 2001 of third-degree rape. Ray was convicted in August 2002 of child rape.
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