DOCS: Suspect ran over Ravensdale man after he confronted them in stolen U-Haul, parked in woods

RAVENSDALE, Wash. - Deputies have arrested the man accused of running over and killing a Ravensdale resident who was out walking his dog when he stumbled upon an alleged crime in progress.   

Investigators say when Nick Valison confronted Andrew Baim about what he was doing in a stolen U-Haul in the woods.  Detectives say Baim then climbed into a stolen pickup, and ran down the father of two.  

In order to make an arrest, detectives had to follow the evidence, which included a truck that was found burning in the middle of a rural road.  

In that location, you can still see the burn pattern in the gravel.  The discovery of the burning vehicle happened just about 5 miles from where Nick Valison was killed.

"I could hear a bunch of popping noises," said Richard, a local resident. 

He spotted the black smoke high above the treeline on September 21, after investigators say a Dodge Ram was dumped in and torched in the middle of 336th Ave SE.  

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"I saw the smoke and I came down the road far enough to see that there was a vehicle blocking the road burning, so I called the police at that point," said Richard.  "They did tell me at the time that they thought it might have been involved in another incident earlier in the day."

Investigators said in court documents that Andrew Baim burned the truck after using it to run over Nick Valison earlier.  Detectives say before he died, Valison had confronted Baim and two other suspects, Bart McMurray, and Alyssa Montano, when he found them going through a stolen U-Haul in a wooded area near his home. 

"He was probably the best human being I’ve ever known, he was the glue of the family," said Tanie Valison, Nick's widow. 

Tanie said during an earlier interview that she'd driven past the stolen moving truck parked in the wooded area, and called Nick to check it out.

"He got on scene and found something suspicious.  I had actually texted my neighbor before and said Nicks’ on foot.  There is something at the bottom of the hill.  So, he was on his way as well, but before he could get there, they violently attacked him, and he died from his injuries," she said. 

Charging documents show that some paperwork survived the truck fire, including a certificate with Baim's mother's name on it, leading them to him.  Tipsters also reportedly came forward, pointing to the trio.   

Documents state that suspect Alyssa Montano told police that Baim, "told her that he needed to go to Ravensdale because he had a U-Haul parked there and had a bunch of stuff to go through... Once they got to Ravensdale, Andrew had Bart (McMurray) drive the U-Haul, while Andrew drove the pickup truck with Alyssa as his passenger."

She told investigators, "Once they had both vehicles parked at that location, they opened the back of the U-Haul and started going through the things."

After a few minutes, she said Valison, "banged on the side of the U-Haul and asked what they were doing."  

McMurray also told detectives during an interview that Valison also told them, "cops had already been called".

He said, "Baim was revving the engine in order to get Valison to move."

Montano said Valison, "looked like he was trying to move a log into their path to stop them." and was, "standing in front of the truck and had his hands on the hood facing them."

At some point during the confrontation, Montano said, Valison, "fell forward and, without hesitation, Andrew drove over him."

Seconds later, a neighbor pulled up, and the three escaped in the pickup.  Baim is then accused of parking the Dodge at a friend's house before dumping and burning it.  The VIN number on the truck matched a truck that was reported stolen from Pierce County.  

"It’s very maddening, yeah," said Richard.  "I figured that he knew the area because I couldn’t see any other reason he would come down here to get rid of the truck."   

Baim is expected back in court in late November.