Driver waved gun, fled police before running man down in Lakewood driveway, charges say
A man accused of fleeing police in Lakewood last week and crashing his SUV in the driveway of a house, killing a man who had come outside with a shotgun, has been charged with murder.
Jamshid Foster Aflatooni, 39, was charged Friday in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, three counts of second-degree assault and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle.
According to charging documents, police had probable cause to arrest Aflatooni earlier in the evening on suspicion of assault related to two road-rage incidents in Milton. He was pulled over on southbound Interstate 5 by Fife Police Department officers but then fled.
A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf at arraignment Friday afternoon. Superior Court Commissioner Philip Thornton set bail at $1 million. According to court records, Aflatooni has no prior criminal history in Pierce County.
Aflatooni is accused in the death of a 43-year-old Lakewood man. The victim has not been publicly identified. Police said the victim went outside his home July 6 on Irene Avenue Southwest armed with a shotgun after hearing the commotion from police trying to apprehend the defendant.
Police said Aflatooni rammed a patrol vehicle twice in the residential neighborhood, and an officer hit an unoccupied vehicle while trying to avoid another collision.
The defendant allegedly sped out of a cul-de-sac and drove straight toward the victim’s home, colliding with a car parked in the driveway and pushing it into the man, pinning him between the car and a garage. Police said the victim fired his shotgun at the defendant’s vehicle as it sped toward him, possibly striking its grill. Emergency responders from West Pierce Fire & Rescue extracted the man from the wreckage and took him to a hospital, where he underwent surgery.
The victim died several hours after surgery. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, the man suffered two broken legs, a fractured pelvis, internal injuries and a partial amputation of his left arm.
Prosecutors wrote in charging documents that it was “clear from the defendant’s statements” that he knew the victim was standing in the driveway when he drove directly at him. After being detained, Aflatooni allegedly rambled about trying to save the police and being shot at.
“The evidence also shows that if the defendant was trying to continue to elude the officers, he would have turned onto Irene Avenue rather that driving directly at the victim,” the probable cause document states.
No one was hurt in the road-rage incidents Aflatooni was a suspect in, according to the probable cause document. He reportedly waved a handgun out his vehicle’s window after someone honked at him and, in a separate incident, pointed the weapon at two people.
Charging documents describe police pursuit, fatal crash
Lakewood Police Department officers were advised of the road-rage incidents in Milton, and an officer reportedly saw Aflatooni drive by his location near state Route 512, according to the probable cause document. The officer followed the defendant into a residential neighborhood in the area of Irene Avenue Southwest, where Aflatooni reportedly stopped in the middle of the street.
Records say Aflatooni slowly started to drive north, then put the car in reverse and rapidly accelerated toward the Lakewood police SUV behind him. The officer backed up and avoided being struck. Then Aflatooni reportedly stopped and drove forward. That’s when the Lakewood officer activated his emergency lights and began pursuing the driver.
Aflatooni stopped in the middle of the road again on St. Francis Street, according to the probable cause document. He reversed toward the police vehicle again. The police officer tried to back up but struck an unoccupied vehicle and was still rammed by the other driver.
The police officer continued to follow Aflatooni, but the defendant allegedly reversed and rammed the SUV again. By this time, other officers had arrived on the scene. According to the probable cause document, Aflatooni went around a cul-de-sac at a high rate of speed, then drove straight toward a house facing the dead-end road.
The victim was standing outside in front of a parked car with a shotgun, and Aflatooni struck the vehicle, pushing it and the victim into the garage. Officers reported hearing shots and later determined the victim had fired two rounds while the defendant drove toward him.
Aflatooni got out of the vehicle with his hands up and yelled, “He’s got a gun,” according to the probable cause document. Officers told him to get on the ground and detained him. A search warrant was executed on the man’s vehicle, and police found an unloaded 9 mm Glock with a magazine nearby along with a magazine for a .40-caliber gun.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 2:11 PM.
