A 35-year-old man was arrested June 10 in connection with a 50-year-old man who was found dead outside his home near Poulsbo June 7, which the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office investigated as a homicide.

The suspect was arrested following deputies searching for the person of interest in an area of dense woods near Snider Park just outside Poulsbo, per KCSO. The agency said gunshots were heard around 6:30 p.m., but that none were fired by law enforcement. Baseball games at Snider Park were cancelled that day due to KCSO’s presence in the area.

The suspect was taken to a medical aid unit for evaluation following his arrest and was then booked into Kitsap County Jail. He appeared in Superior Court June 11 and is facing a charge of first-degree murder, and another charge of first-degree assault.

Deputies were initially dispatched to investigate a suspicious death after the 50-year-old man’s body was found outside his home in the 22000 block of Big Valley Road NE, KCSO says. The identity of the man, as well as the cause and manner of death, will be released by the Medical Examiner’s Office after notification of the victim’s family, per KCSO.

Court documents

Probable cause papers state that the victim was found lying dead on the ground June 7 by the property owner near a home that was being remodeled on Big Valley Road. The property owner told authorities that the deceased man had been watching the property while the home was being remodeled, but had not responded to multiple text messages the previous few days, which prompted him to come to the property.

Detectives from KCSO arrived at the crime scene June 7 and found three .22 casings near the body, per documents. An autopsy determined that the victim was shot multiple times. A neighbor told detectives that a man was living in the woods between Big Valley Road and Viking Way and was accused of stealing from the property.

Law enforcement made initial contact with the suspect, Laird Dinsmore, in the woods, who identified himself and said he had been in the area for a few days, per documents.

Video footage from a surveillance camera on the property was later recovered by detectives, which shows the deceased man working in the driveway June 4 before another man enters the frame armed with a rifle, shooting the victim multiple times, documents state.

Detectives noted the shooter in the video was similar in appearance to Dinsmore, which prompted KCSO to announce him as a “person of interest” in the investigation. Law enforcement searched the woods behind Snider Park, home to North Kitsap Little League, and encountered Dinsmore, who allegedly fired shots at officers, including a SWAT team, after they had announced their presence. He was later located and arrested, documents read.

Dinsmore admitted to officers he killed the man and also admitted to firing shots at law enforcement, per documents.