Man tried to elude deputies in U-Haul truck after stabbing, robbery, charges say
A 40-year-old man accused of using a U-Haul truck to try to flee deputies after a stabbing and robbery in the Puyallup area Nov. 23 has been charged.
Prosecutors charged the man with first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. He is being held at the Pierce County Jail on a $75,000 bail, court records show.
Deputies were dispatched at about 3:28 p.m. to the 9500 block of 176th Street East for an armed robbery. A 911 caller reported a loss-prevention officer at a grocery store had been stabbed after a fight with the man. The man then drove off in the truck, according to charging documents.
The injured man is 31-years-old, The News Tribune previously reported.
Documents show the victim had blood on his hands and leg. He said he was in pain and taken to a hospital.
The victim later told deputies that his colleague saw the man trying to steal alcohol. They both tried to stop the man, but he punched back. The victim did not realize the man was allegedly slashing him with the box cutter until a shopper intervened and told him.
Documents show the defendant allegedly tried to steal three cellphone mounts found inside a backpack that were worth around $90.
When deputies initially stopped the truck, there was a female driving. The defendant allegedly pushed her out of the driver’s side door before he got behind the wheel and drove off. Deputies have not found her, documents show.
A pursuit wove through several streets, and deputies attempted two precision immobilization technique maneuvers. Deputies noted the man was allegedly driving at a high speed and almost struck someone on an electric scooter. He also nearly hit other vehicles during the chase. The pursuit ended in the 13400 block of Waller Road when the truck crashed into a 2019 Dodge Durango head-on, court documents show.
A driver and passenger from the Durango appeared to have been shaken up and smoke was coming from the car, documents show. When a deputy asked if they were injured, one of them said their hand hurt.
The defendant was arrested, and he was taken to a local hospital after complaining of neck pain, documents show.
Court records show the man has several criminal convictions going up until 2000. He recently was convicted in Pierce County for second-degree criminal trespass. He also has convictions in 2023 from Fife for third-degree theft and obstructing a law enforcement officer.
This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 5:15 AM.
