Northgate rip-off gone fatally wrong?

His MySpace page includes a one-line tribute to his two roommates, who died after being shot inside their North Seattle town house last month during a home-invasion robbery.

"REST IN LOVE ANDIS AND FRANKLIN," reads the caption next to a photo of the 19-year-old, along with his roommates Andis Petersons and Franklin Wood, that was posted 10 days after the Jan. 11 shooting.

But according to a Seattle Police Department search warrant made public this week, detectives are investigating whether the 19-year-old man enlisted the help of friends to stage the robbery in order to rip off his roommates.

Though the 19-year-old never intended for anyone to get shot, the alleged plan turned deadly when Petersons fought back, the warrant says.

Seattle police have not officially named any suspects or "persons of interest" in the case, said Sgt. Sean Whitcomb. Detectives continue to investigate the double homicide, and anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the police homicide unit at 206-684-5550.

"We're really hoping that any attention this case gets will provide us with a crucial piece of evidence that will help us solve this case," Whitcomb said.

The Seattle Times is not naming the roommate because he has not been charged with a crime.

According to the search warrant, the 19-year-old told police a female acquaintance called Wood on the night of the shootings and said she would stop by the town house the three men shared in the 1400 block of North Northgate Way. Soon after her call, the doorbell rang and the 19-year-old went to answer the door.

Instead of Wood's friend, three men with guns — one wearing a ski mask — barged in, the roommate told police. The man in the ski mask stuck a gun in the roommate's face and ordered him to the floor; the two other intruders ran to the upper floors of the multistory town house, the warrant says. The 19-year-old said "he heard scuffling, then two shots, separated in time from each other," according to the warrant.

The two gunmen ran downstairs and all three intruders took off, the warrant says.

The roommate went upstairs and found that Petersons, 20, and Wood, 18, had been shot. He called a friend, who drove to the house and persuaded the 19-year-old to call 911, according to the warrant.

Not only did the roommate wait "several minutes after the shooting to call 911," he first called the friend and "took the time to collect both Petersons' and Wood's cellphones" — even though he had his own cellphone that he used to call 911, the warrant says.

Petersons, who was shot once in the torso, died in the emergency room at Harborview Medical Center. Wood, shot in the right thigh, died during surgery, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office.

In the bedroom where Petersons was shot, detectives found an open safe, marijuana, OxyContin tablets, bundles of cash and a bag containing several handguns, according to the warrant. The 19-year-old's friend who came to the house after the shootings later told police Petersons and Wood dealt drugs from the home, the warrant says.

Days later, an anonymous tip came from an acquaintance of the men who said the roommate "set up this incident as a robbery to get money" and "didn't mean for anyone to get shot," the warrant says. One intruder shot Petersons when "Petersons started to fight"; Wood was shot as he came running up the stairs toward Petersons' room and then "fell backward down the stairs," according to the warrant.

The caller identified a friend of the 19-year-old as one of the gunmen, the warrant says.

The 19-year-old also used Petersons' cellphone for several days after the homicides before giving it to Petersons' family, who turned the phone over to police, according to the warrant. One text message sent to Petersons' phone after his death was from the same friend named by the anonymous tipster, the warrant says.

"It seems apparent that no matter who planned this incident, [both] victims were targeted because of the drugs and cash present at the scene," a police detective wrote in the warrant.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com