Two men indicted for several home invasions and 2022 murder of Everett woman

Two men have been indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court for actions as part of a criminal organization, including robbery, kidnapping, burglary, and the 2022 murder of South Everett woman Irah Sok.

According to court documents, Kevin Thissel and Christopher Johnson engaged in criminal activities, including targeting Asian families for robbery and burglary.

These robberies would typically include the members wearing dark clothing, carrying guns and breaking into homes between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.

The suspects would disable security cameras and force themselves into the home, usually by kicking in a door.

They would announce themselves as police officers, corral the victims, including children, and restrain them with zip ties.

The suspects would then ransack the home, looking for anything valuable, including cash, jewelry, luxury handbags, purses, and more, while holding the victims at gunpoint.

According to court documents, Thissel and Johnson are named in several incidents, including:

• A home invasion and robbery of four people on May 24, 2022, in Mount Vernon.
• Only Johnson is named in the robbery of two people on July 14, 2022, in Burien.
• A home invasion and robbery in Kent on July 28, 2022.
• A home invasion and the murder of Irah Sok in Everett on August 19, 2022.

According to our coverage in 2022:

At around 3 a.m. on (August 19), three men entered a home on 96th Street Southeast just off 19th Avenue Southeast in unincorporated Snohomish County near Everett.

Deputies say a family of three — a woman, her husband and their child — were in the home when the men forced their way inside.

Courtney O’Keefe, spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sherriff’s Office, says words were exchanged on the second floor of the home.

“There was a little bit of a verbal altercation between the victims and the suspect,” said O’Keefe. “I’m not aware that there was any struggle or physical contact.”

The woman in her 30s was shot and died at the scene. Her husband suffered minor injuries, and the child was not hurt.

“It’s been very difficult to see the family members arrive on scene here,” said O’Keefe. “It’s a devastating day for everyone.”

One of the intruders was wearing a mask, and another may have had his face painted.

Deputies are speaking with neighbors and asking if anyone has surveillance footage.

Ray Atsatt lives near the home where the shooting occurred. As someone who works in the security industry, he said feeling uneasy at work is one thing, but he shouldn’t feel that way in the area where he lives.

“No, not in a neighborhood that I’ve grown up in. I shouldn’t feel uneasy. I should be able to feel that if I have a problem in the neighborhood, I should be able to call law enforcement, and they should be able to deal with it in a proper amount of time,” said Atsatt.

Thursday afternoon, representatives with the Department of Justice, FBI, Snohomish County, King County, Mount Vernon, and Kent are expected to announce the indictment at a press conference.