Man charged in Tacoma shooting said he’s ‘done this before,’ records say
A confrontation outside a Tacoma convenience store ended with one man shot and two people in jail.
The men involved told police different stories about what led up to Tuesday’s shooting near East 72nd Street.
The alleged shooter said the victim “disrespected” his sisters by telling them they looked good, according to court documents.
The victim said the other man confronted him with a gun and asked where he was from.
Witnesses flagged down a Pierce Transit officer who was investigating the sound of gunshots.
By the time he arrived, both the victim and the gunman had fled.
Charging papers give this account:
Police found shell casings from two different handguns near the convenience store, on the sidewalk and in the road.
Witnesses reported seeing a group of people sitting inside a Ford station wagon. The alleged shooter walked out of the store, got in the car but then got out and approached a man near the corner of the store.
Gunshots pierced the air.
The shooter ran, and so did the victim.
The victim asked passersby to take him to the hospital and they complied. They later told police the victim was carrying a gun, which was found near the scene.
The victim was shot in the leg and is expected to survive.
Police traced the station wagon to an apartment complex in Lakewood, where they found the alleged shooter, getaway driver and gun, which was hidden in a couch.
The getaway driver, a 19-year-old woman, told police the shooter told her to relax because he’d “done this before,” records say.
On Thursday, Pierce County prosecutors charged the 22-year-old shooter with first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $100,000 bail.
The woman pleaded not guilty to first-degree rendering criminal assistance and was released on her own recognizance.
Prosecutors said the alleged gunman is an admitted gang member with a prior conviction for second-degree robbery.
This story was originally published December 14, 2018 at 9:50 AM.