A history of stolen cars, guns. Now deputies say he killed 12-year-old in hit-and-run
The man accused of hitting two 12-year-old girls in Midland, killing one and seriously injuring the other, has an extensive criminal history.
He was being supervised by the Washington State Department of Corrections for felony convictions related to a burglary, stolen vehicle, home invasion and high-speed pursuit where deputies had to break out the car’s window to arrest him.
After serving about two years in prison, the 32-year-old man was found with a loaded shotgun, methamphetamine and whiskey and charged with those violations last year.
State officials complained that he wasn’t paying restitution and his father filed for a protection order against him, claiming the man was “out of control,” drank daily and was abusive, court records say.
The News Tribune is not naming the suspect because he has not been charged with a crime. Pierce County prosecutors say they expect to charge him Thursday in connection with a Jan. 15 hit-and-run that killed 12-year-old Immaculee Goldade and badly injured her best friend, Kathleen Olson.
The two girls were having a sleepover at Immaculee’s home and asked permission to take a walk around the neighborhood.
As they wandered near home on 104th Street East and 24th Avenue East about 10:30 a.m., about a block from Midland Elementary School, a flatbed pickup truck stolen from a local business struck the two girls and fled.
Immaculee, who loved ones described as fun-loving with a compassionate heart and an unforgettable smile, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her friend was hospitalized with critical injuries.
Sheriff’s deputies found the stolen truck later that day at a gas station in Parkland. Surveillance cameras at the convenience store captured a man getting out of the truck and going inside to buy snacks.
Investigators say it’s that footage that helped them identify the suspect and lead them to his home Wednesday on the outskirts of Tacoma. A SWAT team was sent to make the arrest because of the man’s history with weapons.
When the SWAT team pulled up, the suspect was standing in the garage.
“He came right out with his hands up,” sheriff’s Sgt. Darren Moss said.
Inside the home were the man’s fiance, daughter and another woman. None of them were taken into custody.
A stolen handgun was found in the garage about six feet from where the suspect was standing and a stolen vehicle was out front of his home, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
It’s unclear when the man first began getting into trouble, but there are signs dating back seven years.
His father was granted a protection order against him in 2015, saying the man drank daily and would push him around. The behavior led them to occasionally get into fist fights.
“I’m at the point I need to keep him from coming around or get a gun,” his father wrote in an application seeking protection.
In November 2016, the man broke into a Pierce County house while the homeowners were away on a holiday weekend. He stole a .38-caliber S&W revolver and Chevrolet Suburban and took them on a home invasion, where deputies spotted him fleeing the scene in the stolen SUV, court records show.
He refused to pull over and led deputies on a pursuit that reached speeds of 75 mph in a 45 mph zone. Deputies eventually were able to stop the SUV and had to break out the driver’s side window to arrest him because he locked the doors and ignored their commands.
The stolen gun was found in the SUV.
The man told detectives he was burglarizing and robbing homes because he was homeless and needed the money, according to court records.
He was convicted in 2017 of possessing a stolen firearm, first-degree trafficking in stolen property, second-degree assault, second-degree burglary and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. A judge sentenced him to spend two years and five months in prison.
Once he was released, the man was being supervised by DOC, which complained that he failed to make any headway on paying $1,286 in restitution.
The man once again found himself in trouble with the law when DOC officers came to search his home Oct. 7, 2020, and found a loaded 12-gauge shotgun in the garage near a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey and a methamphetamine pipe.
He told the DOC officers a friend dropped off the gun and his fiance used it to protect herself, prosecutors wrote in charging papers. He allegedly admitted that he drank whiskey and smoked meth.
After pleading not guilty to first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, he was released on his own recognizance.
On Wednesday, after his arrest, prosecutors filed a notice that he had violated pretrial services by not showing up for his Jan. 13 appointment or checking in. The case remains unresolved.
A celebration of life for Immaculee will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Marymount Event Center, 325 152nd St. E., Tacoma. She is survived by her parents and seven siblings.
Immaculee loved playing sports, snowboarding, playing games and making new friends.
“She loved to laugh and joke around, she was endowed with a caring spirit, a compassionate heart, and a large unforgettable smile,” according to her obituary. “It seemed that her goal in life was to have fun.”
Immaculee was home-schooled through the St. Joseph Homeschool Program and previously attended Visitation Catholic STEM Academy.
A GoFundMe for Immaculee’s family has raised more than $47,000.
This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 11:52 AM.
