Man wanted for murder in Fife accused of shooting National Guard officer in moving car
Fife police are searching for a 29-year-old man charged with murder and drive-by shooting for firing on a moving car in September, killing its driver and sending the vehicle off the road and into a lamppost.
Andrew Lautogia Fonoti was charged Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court in connection to the Sept. 12 homicide of Rudolph King III, a 23-year-old U.S. National Guard officer. Prosecutors charged Fonoti with first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, drive-by shooting, unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
King’s death was initially reported as a single-car wreck near the intersection of 70th Avenue East and 20th Street East, but according to court documents, further investigation found that King died of a single gunshot wound to the head before crashing.
The Fife Police Department’s investigation determined that Fonoti was a passenger in a stolen Toyota Camry along with a teenager and a 14-year-old boy on 20th Street East when King drove past in a Hyundai sedan, and Fonoti allegedly shot King. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, King’s parents were on the phone with him at the time of the shooting, and they didn’t hear anything indicating that road rage led up to it. The line just went dead, and then notifications from King’s watch indicated he’d been in a collision.
It’s unclear why King was shot. One person interviewed by detectives allegedly said Fonoti and the teenage driver, identified by the initials J.T. in charging papers, told them that the victim had been driving really close or was racing. Surveillance video reportedly showed that the Camry was in front of King’s Hyundai, and the Camry pulled into the center lane, letting King pass before the fatal gunshot was fired.
Fife police issued a bulletin Wednesday morning on social media announcing that Fonoti was wanted for murder. Detectives asked anyone with information about the suspect’s whereabouts to submit a tip by contacting Crime Stoppers online or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS. Anyone who sees Fonoti was advised not to approach him and to call 911.
King was from Milton and was a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, where he met his fiancée, Sarah Layne, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser started to raise money for her. Both were recently commissioned as officers and served in the National Guard.
Detectives identified Fonoti as the gunman using clues from the stolen Camry, which was found abandoned in South Tacoma three days after the homicide, as well as an anonymous tip, witness interviews and jail phone calls.
When the stolen Camry was searched for evidence, detectives found the name “Drewsky” written across the top of the steering wheel, which they later learned was a nickname used by Fonoti, according to the probable cause document. The vehicle had bullet holes in the windshield, and Tacoma police officers collected two live .22-caliber rounds and a 9 mm round in the driver’s door pocket. Records state two 9 mm shell casings were recovered from the area of the shooting.
The car was processed for fingerprints, but Fonoti’s prints weren’t located inside, prosecutors wrote in charging papers. A palm print on the steering wheel was attributed to J.T., and other prints reportedly belonged to the 14-year-old boy. Prosecutors wrote that the boy had been arrested in Fife for a robbery and aggravated assault from September, and he and Fonoti were suspects in the robbery of a pizza-delivery driver at an apartment complex.
In late October, detectives interviewed two people who said they were at that apartment complex the morning after King’s homicide, records state, and Fonoti and J.T. said they had just shot a guy, seemingly bragging about it. One person reportedly told police they contacted J.T. on the night of the homicide, and J.T. said, “Drew, you hit that guy.”
Two more witnesses allegedly said J.T. and Fonoti told them about the shooting and that Fonota was the gunman. One said Fonoti told him he stole the Camry from a delivery driver, and that while they were driving around in it, someone in the backseat fired a gunshot at a Jeep, and its occupants returned fire, which was why the windshield had bullet holes in it.
The gun used to shoot King has not been recovered, according to the probable cause document. Prosecutors wrote that Fonoti is believed to be transient and has a Department of Corrections warrant for escape from community custody. He also has prior felony convictions for theft of a motor vehicle and attempting to elude.
