A man was shot at a Ruston gas station last year. Prosecutors have now filed charges
A 26-year-old man is accused of shooting another person multiple times during a fight at a gas station in Ruston last year.
Pierce County prosecutors charged Deonte Mitchell with first-degree assault and possession of a stolen firearm in the Sept. 17, 2023 shooting. Mitchell is not in custody, and prosecutors requested a warrant for his arrest due to the victim’s concern for his and his family’s safety as well as the serious nature of the charges, charging documents show.
Ruston police officers heard gunshots coming from the gas station in the 5000 block of North Pearl Street at 1:58 a.m. Several people were around the victim, who had been shot multiple times. Officers noticed a silver sedan backing out of a pump and driving off as they arrived. The license plate number was obtained, prosecutors wrote.
Officers provided medical aid to the victim. He was later hospitalized and underwent rehabilitation for over a month for a shattered femur, prosecutors wrote.
Shell casings were found at the scene. An employee said before the shooting there was a commotion, and he saw a group of people fighting, documents show. The employee said he saw the shooter get hit before he fired about three gunshots at the victim.
Surveillance footage showed multiple people, including the victim, get out of different vehicles at about 1:45 a.m. The shooter, later alleged to be Mitchell, got out of a red Jeep. The fight began near one of the pumps between two people, prosecutors wrote.
A large group of people appeared from a corner and began fighting. The victim fell backwards. He got up and lunged towards the group, documents show. Several people were thrown against the gas station’s window. The victim was then seen walking backwards from the store as the shooter walked towards him before firing his weapon.
The shooter was seen saying something as he passed the victim on the ground. He walked towards two other people from the group who were fighting in a different corner. The shooter then left in the Jeep, prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors wrote that the camera captured the shooter dispose of an object in the trash at the gas station. Several hours after an officer recovered a gun from the trash, a vehicle pulled next to the trash can and a woman exited. She removed the entire bag and left the area in the car. The male driver appeared to match the shooter’s description.
A DNA profile from the gun allegedly matched Mitchell. Detectives reviewed his social media and noticed he had various tattoos. One tattoo matched the one that the shooter had from the surveillance video, prosecutors wrote. The Jeep the shooter drove off in was found to be registered to Mitchell’s brother.
