BREMERTON — A short public ceremony, along with a highway dedication and sign unveiling at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 19 at the North Perry Community Fire Station in East Bremerton will honor the memory of a long-gone but not forgotten law enforcement official.
Forty years ago next week, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office and its extended family sustained a significant blow with the loss of 30-year-old Deputy Sheriff Dennis Ray Allred.
Allred was shot and killed on April 19, 1978. At about 10:55 p.m., Allred made a traffic stop on a pickup truck towing another vehicle. Allred was on patrol, most likely on his way home while driving along a stretch of the Illahee-Brownstein Road when he stopped the two vehicles.
A turquoise pickup truck was towing a stolen Chevrolet Malibu that didn’t have an engine. The Malibu had broken free from a tow cable and left the roadway. James Stemkowski and Steve Richards stayed in the pickup as Nedley G. Norman jumped out when Allred initiated the stop.
While Allred was talking with Richards and Stemkowski, Norman walked up behind him and fired. One round struck Allred in the back. When he fell and spun around, Norman then shot Allred in the chest and in the head.
A passing nurse who was headed to Harrison Hospital in Bremerton found the deputy in the middle of the road and used his radio to call for help. Allred died at the scene. After an exhaustive manhunt, the three men were apprehended.
Following a jury trial for first-degree aggravated murder, Norman was convicted and sentenced to death under Washington’s death penalty statute. In 1981 Norman won an appeal and his death sentence was overturned by the Washington Supreme Court. Norman’s death penalty sentence was modified to life without parole, but to this day, Norman continues to fight his original conviction. Richards and Stemkowski were both convicted of second-degree murder and have since been released from prison.
Forty years later, members of the Retired Deputy Sheriff’s Association and active duty personnel with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office continue to recognize this tragic event. The association, in conjunction with the sheriff’s office, proposed that Kitsap County honor the memory of Deputy Allred with a portion of Illahee Road re-dedicated as the Deputy Dennis Allred Memorial Highway.
The Kitsap County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution April 9 to create a memorial proclamation and directed a memorial street sign placed along Illahee Road that honors Allred’s life and sacrifice, and ensures that his memory is not forgotten.
The event will take place at CKFR Station 45, 3725 Trenton Avenue NE in East Bremerton.
Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Allred
