Teen suspect in March 20 I-5 shooting charged in high-speed pursuit through Pierce County
A 16-year-old boy suspected of a drive-by shooting on Interstate 5, stealing ammunition from a store and leading police on a high-speed chase through Eatonville has been criminally charged.
He pleaded not guilty Friday to attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and was ordered held at a juvenile detention facility.
Investigations into the shooting and burglary are still ongoing.
No charges have been filed against the other boys, ages 11, 12 and 14, who were with him at the time of the pursuit.
Troopers say the boys cut off a Toyota 4Runner Sunday (March 20) and someone in the passenger seat of their van fired at least five shots at the other car as they drove on the ramp from northbound I-5 to eastbound 38th Street.
No one was hit.
Employees at a Tacoma business told authorities four people in a similar van stole ammunition from their store shortly before the shooting, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Troopers shared surveillance footage of the van with local law enforcement agencies and an Eatonville officer spotted it Thursday morning in the parking lot of Eatonville High School.
Somebody called 911 to report the van because the people inside were wearing ski masks and the van kept changing parking spaces for no apparent reason, according to charging papers.
The 16-year-old allegedly drove recklessly, speeding and passing vehicles in oncoming traffic as he led police on a chase into Roy.
Police lost sight of the van but a sheriff’s deputy spotted it about a half hour later on Mountain Highway as it was forced to make a U-turn due to a road closure from an unrelated collision.
After the teenager almost struck the deputy’s patrol car head-on, the deputy used stop sticks to slow the van and flatten its two front tires.
“Despite having two flat, smoking and disintegrating tires the van continued west bound in excess of 80 MPH while passing vehicles in oncoming lanes,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
The van crashed after running a stop sign at 70 mph and failing to make a turn. It plowed through a barbed wire fence and hit several cottonwood trees before stopping in the mud.
All four boys inside were taken into custody.
This story was originally published March 26, 2022 at 2:44 PM.
