Soldier sentenced to 70 years at Fort Leavenworth for killing two people after concert

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times - Friday, November 6, 2026

A military judge at Joint Base Lewis-McChord sentenced a soldier to 70 years in prison, a reduction in rank to private and a dishonorable discharge this week for killing two people and wounding three others in June 2023 when he began shooting shortly after attending a concert in Quincy, Washington.

Then-Spc. James M. Kelly, 29, was at a concert with his girlfriend at the Gorge Amphitheater when he ate psilocybin-containing mushrooms and began exhibiting what Army officials said was “paranoid behavior.”

“After the couple returned to their campsite, Kelly used a handgun to shoot and kill [Brandy Escamilla and Josilyn Ruiz], two women that he did not know who were passing nearby,” Army officials said.

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He continued shooting, striking a bystander in the shoulder before moving away from the campsite with his girlfriend.

“When she dialed 911 and attempted to intervene, Kelly assaulted her and then shot her twice in the lower body,” Army officials said. “He then fired at an all-terrain vehicle occupied by three security personnel responding to the incident and shot a law enforcement drone the police were using to try and locate him.”

Local police ended the assault by shooting and wounding Kelly. He was then taken into custody.

At the time of his arrest, Kelly was a fire support specialist in the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. The Army took over the prosecution of the case against him in February at the request of the Grant County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

He will serve his prison sentence at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

“This sentence reflects the seriousness of Spec. Kelly’s conduct and represents an important step toward accountability and justice,” Capt. Stewart Miller, a prosecutor with the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, said in a statement. “We will continue to honor the victims and their families, and hope this result brings a measure of closure to a long and tragic chapter in the many lives impacted by his case.”