Pierce County man who shot teen on ATV held on $50,000 bail
A Pierce County man suspected of shooting a teenager he believed was trespassing on his property is being held on $50,000 bail.
The 29-year-old pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of first-degree assault.
He was arrested Saturday after calling 911 to report he had “shot a kid,” according to charging papers.
The 15-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was in serious condition. Deputies found him in the 28400 block of 34th Avenue East and applied a tourniquet until paramedics could take him to a local hospital.
Charging papers give this account of the confrontation:
A 42-year-old old man riding a quad with the victim on the back when they encountered the suspect about 4:30 p.m.
The driver “stated that he saw a vehicle parked on the road, and as he approached, a man jumped out of the bushes, started yelling at him, and started shooting a gun at him and at” the victim, records say.
They drove around him but quickly stopped after realizing the teen had been shot.
The driver wrapped a sweatshirt around the teen’s leg and called 911, reporting that the boy was vomiting and had lost a lot of blood.
When deputies found the suspect, he claimed his father recently bought the property and they’d been having trouble with trespassers.
He claimed he heard an ATV so he went out to the road to wave it down.
“The defendant stated that the ATV was coming at him and he was afraid it was going to hit him, so he jumped out of the way and fired two shots into the ground,” prosecutors wrote in charging documents.
Other ATV riders later told investigators the suspect also stopped them that day to tell them they were trespassing and needed to leave.
Deputies searched the area for fences or signs marking the land as private property but said they found none.
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 11:01 AM.
