A Poulsbo man pleaded guilty in the 2023 death of his then 25-year-old friend in Kitsap County Superior Court on Monday, Sept. 15, almost two years to the day after he told detectives that the victim died of a self-inflicted gunshot.
Zachery Ian Streun, 25, was driving with victim Bradley Michael Joshua Smith on Tracyton Boulevard between the Fairgrounds and Silverdale just after 9 p.m. on Sept. 23, 2023, when the car crashed and struck a power pole and several mailboxes on the side of the road. When the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene, Smith was dead, with a gunshot wound on the right side of his head.
Streun initially told deputies that Smith shot himself. However, Streun was arrested almost a year following the incident, in September 2024, after further investigation suggested that it was more likely that Streun was the one who fired the gun. Following a jury trial and a plea deal reached on Sept. 15, Streun was convicted of third-degree assault, a felony.
Investigation uncovered details that undermine narrative
On the night of the crash, Streun told KCSO deputies that he and Smith were friends and were headed to a Silverdale restaurant after attending a birthday party. According to Streun, Smith pulled out his gun and shot himself.
A Smith and Wesson 9 mm handgun registered to Smith was found in the car, as well as a small bag of drugs and Smith’s luggage, as he was supposed to move to Florida the following day. Deputies also said Streun appeared intoxicated and admitted to drinking alcohol that night.
Detectives raised suspicions after an autopsy found abrasions around the victim’s gunshot wound that suggested that Smith could have been shot at a distance up to two feet away, rather than at close range. A forensics team further determined that Smith was shot within 10 to 15 inches. Tests conducted by KCSO detectives concluded that shooting another person at that distance was more likely done from the passenger seat than by a driver holding the gun in his own hand.
Smith’s family also testified that Smith was left-handed, and would’ve had his right hand on the car’s stick shift, rather than holding a gun while driving. Smith also took gun safety very seriously by attending firearm safety courses, they told investigators. The family also provided investigators Snapchat photos and videos of Streun that night, handling the same gun found in the car.
Guilty plea reduces sentence to 60 days in prison
A jury trial began in July but court proceedings concluded when Streun entered a plea deal that dropped his initial charge down from first-degree manslaughter to third-degree assault, and subsequently reduced his maximum sentence.
Following the felony conviction, Streun was sentenced to 60 days in prison and 12 months probation by Judge Melissa Helmstreet. He was also ordered to pay just under $6,000 in restitution to the state, which will go toward the victim’s family.
Smith is survived by his parents and older sister, who each gave statements during Streun’s trial expressing grief over Smith’s unexpected death and outrage that Streun’s charge was not harsher.
“Bradley never made it to Florida, he will never get to finish his degree, he never got to fly the coop, he will never own a home, get married or have children,” said Amanda Smith, Smith’s mother. “We will never have any more birthdays, holidays or family gatherings. Not a day goes by that I do not feel the loss. Sometimes I have to remind myself to breathe. Zachery Streun still has his life, but please your honor do not let him have his freedom.”
“I know that no sentence will ever equal the life that was taken, it wont bring him back or fix thevoid,” said Ceara Smith, Smith’s sister. “I know the maximum penalty allowed under the law is far less than what my family had hoped for. But I ask you to impose it. To surrender even a small portion of his freedom cannot balance what he stole from me, from my parents, and from my children — but it is something. It is the only measure of accountability left. I need to have hope that adequate time behind bars will force him to reflect on the reckless choices he made and the devastation they caused others and that any sentence will give my family a fragment of closure amid the chaos we have endured.”
Streun is currently in custody at Kitsap County Jail and is scheduled for release at the end of October.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Poulsbo man gets third-degree assault after 2023 Tracyton death