Second teenager arrested on suspicion of firing at Pierce Transit bus last year
A 17-year-old Spanaway boy has been arrested for firing at a Pierce Transit bus last year and is suspected to be involved in another shooting that took place around the same time in Puyallup.
Police say three separate shootings happened in Puyallup between Dec. 12 and Dec. 28 of last year, according to the Puyallup Police Department in a news release. Five teenage boys were arrested for these interconnected incidents.
Officers arrested the boy on Thursday in the 400 block of 15th Avenue Southeast. He was booked into Remann Hall and has been charged with first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm for the Dec. 22 Pierce Transit bus shooting.
The shooting happened in downtown Puyallup where two teenagers got off the bus near the intersection of West Pioneer Avenue and South Meridian. They fired at another juvenile who was inside the bus. This appeared to be retaliation for en earlier incident when one of the teenagers was previously shot in the leg by the juvenile, according to charging documents.
The release said detectives found evidence linked to the Pierce Transit bus shooting at the teen’s home. They also found alleged evidence to link him to a Dec. 12 shooting. He has only been charged for the Dec. 22 shooting.
The boy was present at his Friday arraignment at Pierce County Juvenile Court where a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf, court records show. Judge Joseph Evans set the teen’s bail at $250,000.
A 16-year-old Pierce County boy was also charged for the incident and the Dec. 12 shooting. He pleaded guilty to the Pierce Transit incident, and his case for the Dec. 12 shooting has closed, according to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The Dec. 12 shooting was the result of a property transaction turned robbery that was arranged through social media.
“As the victim fled the robbery in a vehicle, he was shot at by the suspects. One bullet struck the victim’s vehicle, one bullet struck an unoccupied vehicle parked in the area, and another bullet struck an uninvolved, occupied vehicle at a stoplight nearby,” the release said.
No one was injured in the shooting.
One person was injured in the final shooting that happened Dec. 28 at an apartment building at 701 43rd Avenue Southeast, the release said. The shooting was the result of an illegal firearms transaction that turned into a robbery. The victim was shot in the leg and suffered a serious injury. Officers provided life-saving measures.
