Kalama man pleads guilty to aiding suspect in shooting of Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin DeRosier

LONGVIEW — A Kalama man pleaded guilty this week to assisting the escape of the man who killed Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin DeRosier in April.

The Daily News reports Matthew Veatch, 26, pleaded guilty in Cowlitz Superior Court to rendering criminal assistance, The Daily News reported. The standard sentencing range is six months to a year in jail.

Veatch is the second of three people to take a plea deal with prosecutors over charges of aiding Brian Butts’ attempts at escaping.

Police say Butts shot DeRosier while DeRosier was checking on a disabled motor home in Kalama. Police killed Butts in an exchange of gunfire on April 14 after a manhunt, police said.

Veatch has told officers that he was at his residence when he heard a gunshot and that Butts then arrived, according to police records. Police say Veatch told them he led Butts away through a forested area, even as Butts said he “shot a cop.”

Savannah Eastman has pleaded not guilty to giving criminal assistance and is set for trial later this year.

Ricky Roberts Jr. pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of rendering criminal assistance in a deal with prosecutors. Under the deal, he must testify in Eastman’s trial.