A drug dealer accused his supplier of sleeping with his girlfriend. A shootout ensued, Lakewood police say

A Lakewood drug dealer, suspecting that his supplier was sleeping with his girlfriend, put a gun in his side during a deal early Tuesday, sparking a shootout in an apartment complex parking lot, Pierce County prosecutors say.

The 32-year-old Lakewood man was arraigned Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court on charges of first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

A not guilty plea was enter on his behalf, and his bail was set at $250,000.

According to charging documents:

Lakewood officers were dispatched about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday to a report of a shooting at an apartment complex. By the time officers got there, everyone had fled, but there were 12 .40-caliber shell casings and some broken car glass at the scene.

Detectives reviewed security camera footage. It showed two men walking across the street and getting into a car. Moments later, one of the men is seen jumping out of the back seat and flinches as the car goes past him. The man then pulls out a handgun and fires a series of shots at the car.

The detectives were able to identify one of the men, thought to be the drug supplier, and met with him. He told them he agreed to meet his drug dealer to sell him methamphetamine and heroin. He got into the car and passed the drugs to the driver when the dealer pulled a compact handgun — likely a 9 mm — out and stuck it in his side.

He told detectives he fled the car, thinking he was about to get shot, then fired at the car. Prosecutors wrote that he fired his gun in self-defense.

Detectives arrested the other man Wednesday, finding a small amount of meth on his person. He admitted to robbing his former supplier but said the gun he used was fake.

The dealer said he and his supplier used to be good friends, but then he got wind that the supplier was sleeping with his girlfriend. He said he pulled his fake gun on the man and told him to stay away from the woman.

Prosecutors believe the gun was real, in part because he has multiple prior unlawful gun possession convictions.

This story was originally published August 16, 2018 at 4:34 PM.