Tailgater sentenced for shooting van he couldn’t pass in Tacoma

After the Tacoma Lexus driver couldn’t pass the van, he shot it, Pierce County prosecutors said.

Now the man’s headed to prison.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Ashcraft sentenced 22-year-old Drake Giovanni Jones to two years, seven months in prison April 14.

Jones was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, attempting to elude police and unlawful gun possession.

According to charging papers:

Jones tailgated the van, which was going the speed limit, and tried to pass it several times Oct. 4 near South 56th and South G streets.

Oncoming traffic kept Jones from passing, and the van driver pulled over to let him get by. Instead, Jones stopped next to the van and yelled, “Do you want to die?”

The van driver took off, and parked nearby. Then he heard Jones fire a gun, and a bullet hit the van’s front passenger door.

The van driver called 911 and followed Jones until police arrived. Then officers chased Jones, and eventually arrested him after a police dog found him hiding near a vacant home.

Jones wasn’t allowed to have a gun, because of a prior robbery conviction.

This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 1:24 PM with the headline "Tailgater sentenced for shooting van he couldn’t pass in Tacoma."