Bail is set at $250,000 for the owner of a Rochester K9 training business accused of fatally shooting one of his employees while filming a video advertisement on Tuesday.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Allyson Zipp found probable cause to charge Wayne George Curry, 64, of Rochester, with one count of first-degree manslaughter during Curry’s preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
“These are extremely concerning allegations,” Zipp said of Curry’s case.
Curry was arrested and booked into the Thurston County Jail after Thurston County Sheriff’s Office detectives investigated the shooting on Tuesday, June 3.
An affidavit of probable cause filed in Thurston County Superior Court on Wednesday indicates that Thurston County deputies were dispatched at 10:28 a.m. to a report that CPR was in progress for a 22-year-old unconscious male who had sustained a probable gunshot wound.
The incident was reported at Kraftwerk K9, located in the 1100 block of 183rd Avenue SW in Rochester.
The man, identified in the affidavit as Curtice Gordon, was not breathing when deputies and medical personnel were dispatched.
Dispatchers with Thurston County 911 noted that “there were lots of people in the background screaming that they thought someone had accidentally shot themselves,” according to the affidavit.
Fire department personnel arrived on the scene at approximately 10:35 a.m. and medics declared Gordon deceased at 10:37 a.m., according to the affidavit.
Detectives arrived at the scene at approximately 11:38 a.m. to investigate the incident.
Through their investigation, detectives reportedly determined that “Curtice was struck in the face near his nose by a stray round from Wayne’s weapon and lost his life as a result,” according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the incident occurred during a video and photography shoot for an advertisement for Kraftwerk K9 that was organized by Curry. Tuesday’s shoot was one of three similar shoots done within the last few days.
Two Kraftwerk K9 employees took part in the shoot as videographers and a third employee was tasked with taking photos. Gordon, also a Kraftwerk K9 employee, was tasked with “agitating the dog, using a whip for noise and wearing a bite sleeve,” according to the affidavit.
Curry allegedly directed Gordon to stand down range about 30 feet to the left of a target that Curry shot approximately 10 rounds at with a rifle “to show that the dog was trained not to react to the gunfire.”
According to Curry, the exercise being filmed in the advertisement involved a subject, Curry himself, shooting a gun at a target while holding a dog then sending the dog after an assailant in a different direction
“He said in the video, the dog is supposed to bark in a certain direction, and he’d shoot the target in a different direction and then the dog would go and bite the guy with the sleeve,” the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office stated in the affidavit. Curry allegedly added that “you’re supposed to drop the gun when you let the dog go.”
One of the employees who was part of the shoot on Tuesday told detectives “the way it’s supposed to happen is you ‘heel around’ the dog between your legs with the gun in your hand, shoot a target, put the gun down and then continue with bite work.”
In an interview with detectives, Curry allegedly stated “they were excited to create an advertisement for the dogs, to show why you should get a dog instead of a gun.”
Curry allegedly said “they’d done it about three different times with different dogs,” but the exercise being filmed on Tuesday was done with a new dog.
Curry allegedly told detectives that the rifle used in the exercise was not new but had not been shot before the incident. He allegedly said “he tested it, and it worked okay.”
The affidavit states that “at one point, the dog reacted from a down position to standing and jerked Wayne’s body as he was handling the gun. The next thing everyone knew, they heard a groan from Curtice, and he collapsed.”
Curry allegedly told detectives that “he was done shooting and was getting ready to send the dog,” indicating the dog “did something” and he “knew it was time to drop the gun, but he was still holding it,” according to the affidavit.
Curry allegedly said “the shot went off and he didn’t think anything of it because he thought it was in a different direction.”
Witnesses reported dropping everything to check on Gordon and calling 911 after finding he was bleeding from the head.
Curry allegedly said, “when he saw Curtice drop, he said he wasn’t sure if he did it to fake it because they were making a movie.”
Curry denied having any intention of hurting Curtice, according to the affidavit.
Medical personnel at the scene noted that Curry had had multiple anxiety attacks “on and off” since the incident occurred.
Witnesses reported that they did the exercise successfully multiple times, but said Curry “was displeased with how the dog looked quiet and unbothered by it,” so Curry allegedly had Curtice step in to “agitate the dog.”
“As Curtice was doing this, Wayne was still shooting at the target and didn’t stop shooting until the dog jerked him to the side and a round hit Curtice,” witnesses reported.
When asked if there were any issues with the firearm, a witness reportedly said, “no, I would say Wayne’s the issue. He doesn’t know how to handle a gun. Clearly.”
The witness reportedly pointed out multiple safety issues that came up over the past few days during video shoots involving firearms, including that Curry “seemed to lack basic knowledge about the firearm.”
Witnesses also noted that Curtice was not normally instructed to stand offset from the target downrange of the firearm, saying “Wayne usually wouldn’t point a gun toward where someone was standing, but ‘today, that’s what he wanted.’”
According to witnesses, Curry “wanted the dog to bark in the same direction the gun was pointed.”
Witnesses reportedly told detectives that it was “an easy cut” in postproduction to make it look like the dog was barking in the same direction a gun was firing, but said Curry disregarded employee remarks and safety concerns.
Witnesses also reported that Curry typically does not use a loaded gun while filming, but has repeatedly alarmed employees by flagging them with the gun during shoots.
One employee noted, “Wayne is the only person that handles the guns and every time they’d gone out there to film, it’s happened.”
One instance cited by employees involved Curry taking time to clear the weapon and show everyone it’s empty, “but still flag them with the barrel.”
Witnesses noted that “in today’s incident, Wayne kept the gun loaded and continued to flag them as the day went on.”
“Based on all of the statements from witnesses at the scene, Wayne was given several safety concerns and had shown previously that he was capable of keeping his employees safe during these exercises by using either an unloaded weapon or having them away from the target while shooting and cutting the video together,” the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office stated in the affidavit of probable cause. “Today, Wayne wanted to create a more realistic video and put Curtice down range near the target while shooting a loaded rifle he hadn’t used in years and handling a new dog.”
A witness reportedly described Curry as an “aggressive person” who was “very passionate about his work and the dogs,” but has disregarded safety concerns expressed to him by multiple employees in the past.
One employee reportedly told detectives that Curry is “an enthusiast about dogs, guns, and cars,” and said they felt “Wayne was not prepared for the situation and could barely hold the dog back let alone control a firearm at the same time.”
Curry has been a full-time dog trainer and breeder since 1987, when he left a Boeing job to found Kraftwerk K9. Kraftwerk K9 prioritizes breeding and training German shepherds in tracking, obedience and protection, with clients including police departments adding K9 units and civilians seeking guard dogs, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
Approximately a dozen reviews from former Kraftwerk K9 employees on the company review site Glassdoor posted between 2016 and 2024 cite concerns about Curry abusing dogs in his care, mistreating employees and creating unsafe working conditions.
“The amount of recklessness involved in yesterday’s events are plainly, fairly unconscionable,” Deputy Prosecutor Heather Stone said during Curry’s preliminary hearing on Wednesday, calling the incident “absolutely avoidable.”
While all parties agree that Curry did not act with malice or intent to harm anyone, the first-degree manslaughter charge Curry is facing does not necessitate intent, only that the defendant’s recklessness caused the death of another.
“These events were done without any effort or safety for the employees,” Stone said Wednesday.
While the prosecution requested that Curry’s bail be set at $750,000 and the defense asked for bail to be set no higher than $25,000 due to Zipp’s lack of criminal history.
Zipp has no felony convictions on his record, which only includes one non-felony case from 1998, according to court appointed defense attorney Diana Wildland.
Zipp opted to set Curry’s bail at $250,000, with the condition that he remain under electronic home monitoring if he is released from custody.
Zipp also ordered Curry to surrender all of his firearms by June 12 and approved anti-harassment no-contact orders in favor of the three witnesses. As part of the orders, Curry is prohibited from being within 1,000 of any of the three witnesses and from entering Kraftwerk K9’s campus in Rochester.
The court did make an exception to allow Curry to remain in his home, which is on the same property as the business about 300 feet away.
Curry indicated through his defense attorney that his wife is able to run the business in his stead while the case is pending.
Curry’s conditions of release also prohibit him from having any contact with the victim’s family until the case is resolved.
He was still in custody at the Thurston County Jail as of Wednesday evening.
The Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office has until June 6 to formally file charges against Curry.
Curry’s next hearing had not been scheduled as of Wednesday evening.
