He stole a truck, fled police and refused to surrender. Now he’s charged with 7 crimes
A man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase in a truck stolen at gunpoint from a parking lot in Lakewood was charged Monday.
The 42-year-old man was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree attempted robbery, first-degree assault, theft of a motor vehicle, attempted theft of a motor vehicle, theft of a firearm, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and second-degree attempted arson.
He pleaded not guilty at arraignment and bail was set at $500,000.
Police arrested the man Oct. 12 after using a pursuit technique to stop the truck, pinning it between multiple police vehicles at an intersection in Parkland. The man refused to get out of the truck and wouldn’t talk with negotiators. Police said he claimed he had explosives.
Prosecutors said the man at one point lit a fire inside the truck, but it was extinguished with a fire hose. Eventually, police used a police dog to remove the man and detain him. He was transported to the hospital.
Charging papers gave this account of what happened:
The defendant approached a woman standing by her truck in the parking lot of a business in the 14800 block of Spring Street Southwest in Lakewood. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, the man pointed a handgun at her head and told her to give him the truck.
After she told him the truck belonged to a coworker and showed him she didn’t have the keys, the man apologized and started to walk away. The woman ran into the business to tell her boss what happened.
Meanwhile, the man was able to get into the boss’ truck and began trying to start it, according to the probable cause document. He also allegedly shot a padlock for a gate. Police later determined the man had stolen the gun from a car parked in the lot of another business along Spring Street.
Officers from Lakewood Police Department arrived and tried to stop him from leaving by blocking his exit and putting down a spike strip. Prosecutors wrote that the man was able to start the truck, then escaped the parking lot by driving off a small hill and catching several feet of air.
The man allegedly rammed through a fence separating the parking lot from an apartment complex and continued driving, striking at least one car near the apartments, according to the probable cause document. As he drove away, the man allegedly tossed his handgun out of the truck.
Multiple police officers pursued the man. Prosecutors wrote that he drove “recklessly and in excess of the speed limit.” During the pursuit, officers allegedly saw the man pass cars in oncoming lanes, avoid spike strips and throw objects at police vehicles, damaging a windshield.
A plane from Washington State Patrol provided support from the air while police pursued, according to the probable cause statement.
Police stopped the truck using a “pursuit intervention technique” and pinned it between several police vehicles. The man refused to get out and claimed he was sitting on an explosive device that would detonate if he exited. This proved to be false after a K9 unit removed him from the truck.
The man later told police he tried to steal the car because he was told by “some people” he needed to steal cars for them or they would kill his family, according to the probable cause document.
