He shot up a house and robbed 3 stores in less than 30 minutes, records say
A 27-year-old man is accused of shooting up a house, robbing three stores and leading police on a high-speed chase in less than a half hour.
Pierce County prosecutors on Thursday charged him with first-degree assault, three counts of first-degree robbery, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.
If convicted, this would be the man’s third strike, which could mean life in prison.
Charging papers give this account:
A man who lives in the 5300 block of South Alder Street in Tacoma was awoken just after 5 a.m. Sunday by someone pounding on his door.
When he looked out, he recognized a friend of a friend.
The visitor yelled that the homeowner was the devil and the anti-Christ then allegedly fired three shots into the home through windows.
The bullets embedded in the home. Nobody was injured.
Two minutes later, the suspect walked into a convenience store in the 7200 block of South Tacoma Way with electric tape covering his face.
He pulled out a gun, said, “You know what time it is,” and demanded cash.
An employee was able to jot down the license plate of the sedan he was driving.
Ten minutes later, the suspect’s car was spotted at a convenience store in the 8300 block of Tacoma Mall Boulevard South.
He allegedly robbed the store at gunpoint and advised the clerk not to do anything stupid.
Within seven minutes, the suspect was holding up a market on Pacific Highway South, records say.
As he was leaving, a Lakewood police officer recognized the sedan and tried to pull the car over.
The suspect instead got onto northbound Interstate 5, where he reached speeds of nearly 100 mph while trying to get away from the officer. He eventually exited the Portland Avenue off-ramp, ran several red lights and lost part of his undercarriage while speeding through a parking lot.
Police lost sight of the sedan, which was found hours later abandoned on South Meridian with several flat tires, deployed air bags and smoke coming from beneath the hood.
Officer were able to identify the man through their investigation.
The suspect’s parents also identified him on surveillance footage of the market robbery.
The man was taken into custody and said he couldn’t remember much of what happened because he was off his schizophrenia medication.
A handgun was found in the home, charging papers say.
Prosecutors said he has prior convictions for first-degree robbery in Florida and Alabama.
This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 10:39 AM.
