Parkland man was taking his daughter to day care when a robber shot him. He fought back
A 40-year-old man became ensnared in a violent armed robbery last week in Parkland when — while driving his daughter to day care — a man charged his truck with a rifle, pointed it at his head and demanded money, court documents state.
Trying to de-escalate the situation, the father told the gunman he would help him, but it was no use. According to charging documents, the 18-year-old gunman said he was homeless and that no one could help him.
With a gun in his face and his 3-year-old daughter in the backseat, the father handed over his wallet and phone, he later told detectives. Then, he seized the rifle, ripping it out of the hands of the other man. The robber retreated to an RV, then returned with a pistol, firing through the victim’s windshield and striking him in the mouth.
A struggle ensued between the two men, and by the time Pierce County Sheriff’s Department arrived, the gunshot victim had his attacker pinned to the ground, deputies said.
The accused gunman, Reginald Israel Smith, was charged Monday in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and first-degree malicious mischief. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.
Court Commissioner Craig Adams set bail at $1.5 million during Smith’s arraignment Tuesday afternoon. According to court records, the defendant has no prior convictions in Pierce County.
The victim was hospitalized after the shooting and robbery. Prosecutors wrote in charging documents that he underwent surgery to have bullet fragments removed from his mouth. His daughter was not injured.
Deputies said a neighbor who went outside after hearing gunshots helped get one of the firearms away, grabbing the rifle Smith allegedly charged at the father’s truck with and putting it on his porch. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, the gun was an SKS semi-automatic rifle. Deputies initially described it as an AK-47-style rifle.
Parkland robbery, shooting
Multiple deputies with Pierce County Sheriff’s Department responded about 6:15 a.m. to 128th Street South for reports of shots fired. When they arrived, they found two men fighting and a woman standing nearby.
The victim was trying to control the other man, later identified as Smith, and he yelled to deputies that the woman standing nearby had a gun, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. Deputies could see that the victim had blood “all over” his chin and mouth.
The woman, identified in charging documents as the defendant’s girlfriend, had her hands in the pocket of her hoodie. One deputy drew a firearm and ordered the woman to show her hands. She did, revealing a handgun she allegedly pointed back at the deputy, according to the probable cause document.
Deputies ordered the woman to drop the gun, and she did. Then she was taken into custody. Other deputies grabbed Smith, who was still wrestling with the victim, records state. After being handcuffed, he allegedly tried to flee but was stopped. According to the probable cause document, he repeatedly tried to escape while being put in the back of a patrol car.
Medical aid was called for the victim, who had been shot in the face, records state. He was transported to an area hospital. His 3-year-old daughter was in the backseat of his truck when he was shot, but she was not injured.
Detectives later interviewed the victim at the hospital. He said after he disarmed his attacker, the man retreated to an RV and returned with a pistol.
With the gunman in front of the victim’s truck again, the driver reversed, and the gunman fired at least one shot into the windshield. According to the probable cause document, surveillance footage showed the shooting and the struggle that followed. The victim told detectives he then tackled the assailant in the street, getting the pistol away from him and pinning the man to the ground.
After shots were fired, a neighbor went outside and heard the victim yell for him to call 911, so he went back to his house. He told detectives he heard more gunshots, then grabbed a medical bag and went back outside, where the gunman was pinned down. The victim told the neighbor to grab the gun, and he moved the rifle to his porch.
Around that time, the gunman’s girlfriend arrived and picked up the pistol on the ground, according to the probable cause document. She allegedly pointed it at the father, telling him to release the other man. At that point, the victim could hear sirens, and he told the woman law enforcement would be there soon.
A neighbor told police she heard three gunshots, according to the probable cause document. When she went outside, she reportedly saw the victim sitting on top of another man while the woman stood nearby. She allegedly heard the man on the ground instructing the woman to shoot the victim, and the woman responded, “No, No!” records state.
Whether the woman knew about or participated in the robbery and shooting is unclear, prosecutors wrote in the charging documents. Detectives were continuing to investigate her involvement.
