Updated 4:54 p.m.

A pair of 18-year-olds face murder and robbery charges after police say they fatally shot one man and gravely wounded another during a New Year’s Eve drug deal in Gresham.

Authorities arrested Zion Evans and Jacob Cadle on Monday night in the 185000 block of Northeast Everett Street, said Officer Ben Costigan, a Gresham police spokesman.

Each appeared Tuesday at the Multnomah County Justice Center, where they pleaded not guilty to counts of first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder and first-degree robbery with a firearm.

About a dozen people in the courtroom shouted “We love you!" to Evans at the end of his arraignment.

Police said he and Cadle opened fire on Joshua Cermack, 23, and Christian Stai, 19, as the men sat in a Dodge pickup parked along Northeast 188th Avenue near Irving Court about 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 31.

The pair had met Cermack and Stai with a plan to rob them of the marijuana they had with them in the truck, Costigan said.

Zion Evans and Jacob Cadle.

Bullets struck Cermack, the pickup’s driver, in the stomach, chest and knee, said a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation. He was still wearing his seatbelt when he died, the source said.

Stai was shot in the stomach and chest but survived, according to authorities.

The suspected gunmen fled without taking the drugs, police said.

Stai told investigators he had arranged through Facebook messenger to sell about a pound of marijuana to Evans and another person who went by the usernames “Smokeboy” and “Blunts0621″ on social media, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

He said he knew Evans because they had attended Centennial High School together, court records show. Stai did not return a phone call seeking comment.

During an interview with police, Evans said he and Cadle had intended to rip off Stai and showed up to the drug deal armed, according to prosecutors.

Evans told police he approached the passenger side of the pickup truck, whipped out his handgun and pointed it at Stai, a probable cause affidavit alleges.

Evans said he began shooting after he saw Cermack reach for something in his sweatshirt, though he never saw the man draw a weapon, according to court records.

“He shot his gun about six times and is unsure how many shots Cadle fired,” court records allege. Authorities found no evidence that the men inside the pickup fired any shots.

Prosecutors allege Evans hid his gun under his bed when he returned home and later arranged to have it sold out of state.

His and Cadle’s next court dates are scheduled for Jan. 15.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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