New gun charges filed against felon accused of running from Tacoma police

Facing life in prison without parole, Kenneth Wright ran from Tacoma police after an officer fatally shot a woman trying to keep him from being arrested, police reports say.

The 32-year-old has seven felony convictions, nine misdemeanor convictions and three unresolved criminal cases in Pierce County.

On Tuesday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Wright with three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm after police said they found three guns in the house where he had been staying since the Jan. 29 officer-involved shooting.

He also was arraigned in two unrelated cases, on charges of first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.

Bail was set at $1 million for the robbery and gun charges and at $500,000 for the drug charge. Superior Court Judge Stanley Rumbaugh ordered Wright held in lieu of $1 million bail for the most recent gun charges.

A conviction in that case would be his third strike.

Wright was taken into custody late Sunday after police found him inside a home in the 4400 block of South Asotin Street. Several adults and a 14-month-old baby were inside the house but left when officers asked them to.

Wright refused to come outside and gave police a fake name, but he was identified by two tattoos, one of which is his name, records show.

A search of the home uncovered two loaded handguns and a loaded rifle.

It’s unclear whether it’s the same rifle Wright had when he allegedly ran from police Jan. 29 after officers shot and killed Jacqueline Salyers.

Police had been looking for Wright since July. They spotted him last month as he sat in the passenger seat of a car in the 3300 block of South Sawyer Street.

The officers said that when they approached the car Salyers drove at them, and they opened fire, killing her. Wright ran off and was not found for 17 days, police said.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 7:46 AM with the headline "New gun charges filed against felon accused of running from Tacoma police."