Armed intruder demanded clothes from 91-year-old, who escaped as the suspect changed, charging papers say
The events that led an armed carjacking suspect into a standoff with Pierce County sheriff’s deputies Monday started when he was hitchhiking a couple weeks ago, according to charging papers.
It was his second standoff of the day, and it ended with tear gas.
Along the way the 30-year-old suspect allegedly demanded clothes and money from a 91-year-old resident at gunpoint while fleeing deputies in Graham.
Charging papers give this account of the crime spree and the nonagenarian’s escape:
A woman gave the suspect a ride while he was hitchhiking near her workplace earlier this month.
He showed up at her work a few days later, and they hung out with her friends that night.
She let him borrow her car to get food, but he didn’t come back.
A few days later he called and told her the car was in Parkland.
She drove there in a new car she had purchased, and the 30-year-old “came out of the shadows” and stole that car, too, the declaration for determination of probable cause says.
Then Monday he broke through her bedroom window, held her at gunpoint and tied her up with duct tape.
She managed to cut through the duct tape, grab a gun and confront the suspect, who wore a mask and gloves.
At that point he was holding another woman in the house like a shield, and there was a brief standoff before he took keys to a red Ford Taurus that belonged to the first woman’s father and left.
The second woman said the suspect had ordered her to “load up pistols,” the probable cause statement said.
He found several guns and ordered her to open a safe, though there weren’t any handguns inside.
The stolen guns, like the car, belonged to the first woman’s father. The father told investigators four were missing.
A deputy soon saw the stolen car and pursued it.
“The defendant crashed into some brush and then got out of the driver’s seat and ran west through a field,” the probable cause statement said.
The deputy chased the suspect, who appeared to have a gun. He lost the suspect when he hopped a fence.
When the deputy returned to the car he found a bag of guns nearby the suspect apparently dropped, and a gun in the vehicle.
Meanwhile the 91-year-old resident heard his doorbell ring near 82nd Avenue East and 224th Street East.
He answered the door to find the suspect, who pushed him down and went inside.
“The defendant had a gun that he pointed at the victim’s face,” the probable cause statement said. “The defendant told the victim that he wanted clothes and money and ordered” him into a bedroom.
The 91-year-old gave the suspect clothes and $20.
“While the defendant was changing, the victim saw patrol cars out front, so he took that opportunity to escape,” the probable cause statement said.
SWAT arrived and deputies tried to negotiate for about 30 minutes via loudspeaker, text messages and calls.
He surrendered when they used tear gas.
On the way to jail he managed to slip his restraints in the patrol car, and he shouted obscenities at and threatened the deputy who’d been driving.
“Wait until my friends and coworkers hear about this.,” he allegedly said as he was being booked into jail. “ ... when you’re shopping at Walmart and Costco. ... you’re in civilians with your kid.”
He had two felony warrants for his arrest at the time and eight prior felony convictions. Some of those were for burglary, third-degree assault and unlawful gun possession.
He is not allowed to possess guns.
He pleaded not guilty at arraignment Monday to three new charges of first-degree robbery, three counts of first-degree kidnapping, four counts of gun theft, one count of vehicle theft and one count of first-degree unlawful gun possession.
Bail was set at $1 million.
