Third suspect, considered ‘armed and dangerous,’ sought in death of Port Orchard man, investigators say

Kitsap County detectives are seeking a third suspect in the homicide of a Port Orchard man earlier this week, and they say he may be on the Key Peninsula.

A felony arrest warrant has been issued for Eli M. Gregory, 19, who detectives said is known to frequent the Key Peninsula. He is described as 6-foot-5, 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office said Gregory should be considered armed and dangerous.

Two people, including a former Gig Harbor High School student, have already been arrested and charged in connection to the death of Tyrone Sero, 19, of Port Orchard, the Kitsap Sun reported.

They are Kannon Stephens, 19, of Gig Harbor, charged with first-degree murder, and Karlen Talent, 20, of Port Orchard charged as an accomplice.

Stephens and Talent each pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday in Kitsap County Superior Court. Judge Tina Robinson kept their bail at $1 million.

Sero was last seen on surveillance video getting into an SUV early Wednesday during what authorities said was a marijuana sale.

On Tuesday, Sero told a friend that a 19-year-old man, later identified as Stephens, contacted him on Snapchat asking to buy marijuana, according to probable cause documents.

The pair met at the Kitsap Community Resource building in Port Orchard. Sero arrived in a car with a friend, and Stephens arrived in an SUV with at least one other friend, according to probable cause documents.

Surveillance footage shows Sero getting into the SUV, then struggling and being pulled into the backseat, according to documents.

Sero’s friend who drove him to the scene told police he heard what sounded like a firecracker going off as the SUV “sped out of the parking lot.”

Stephens told police Sero pulled out a gun and demanded money, according to authorities. Stephens said he heard a gunshot, thought Sero had shot his friend so Stephens shot Sero, probable cause documents said.

The three suspects took Sero’s body to a property near Matlock in Mason County where they burned it, according to probable cause documents. Stephens told police he went back the next day and put Sero’s remains in bags, two of which he disposed of in a nearby river, documents said. The suspect put the third bag in his car, authorities said.

Stephens agreed to show detectives the spot in Mason County and agreed to turn over the clothing he wore and the gun and consented to detectives impounding his car, telling them some of Sero’s remains would be in the trunk, documents said. Detectives wrote that they were still searching for the other remains in Mason County.

Gateway staff contributed to this report.

This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 7:27 PM.