Pierce County man who thought world was ending sentenced for shooting at cop
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- Pierce County man sentenced to about 12 years for first- and second-degree assault.
- Defense cited paranoid delusions at time of the incident; evaluations support insanity.
- Judge ordered treatment plan based on completed mental health evaluations.
A man who shot at a Pierce County sheriff’s sergeant in Graham and then fled at over 100 mph, firing at another driver before intentionally crashing his vehicle into a deep ravine, was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years, three months in prison.
Juan Jose Carbajal was experiencing paranoid delusions at the time, according to psychological evaluations, and in court his defense attorney, Michael Stewart described how he had been mentally decompensating over the past several years. On the day of the incident, July 4, 2022, Stewart said Carbajal thought the world was coming to an end.
Carbajal believed Fourth of July fireworks were the “world war apocalyptic event” he had always believed would come about, according to the defense’s sentencing memorandum, and he saw shadows and people surrounding his house. Having heard of a place called “Home” — there is a town with that name on the Key Peninsula — Carbajal fled his residence to seek refuge.
He drove erratically on state Route 161, catching the attention of a Pierce County Sheriff’s Office sergeant who followed him into a gravel lot near a Safeway. Carbajal shot wildly through his windshield and windows, then fled east on 224th Street, running red lights at high speed. The pursuit continued north on 146th Avenue East and then east on 204th Street, where Carbajal passed a driver and shot at the vehicle, shattering a window.
Neither the sheriff’s sergeant nor the motorist were struck by gunfire.
Carbajal then drove off the roadway and into a ravine. Search-and-rescue and SWAT teams responded, according to court documents, but Carbajal was nowhere to be found. Deputies surrounded his trailer in the Orting Valley the next morning, and he was arrested without incident.
Carbajal, 31, pleaded guilty Nov. 14 to first- and second-degree assault. He was originally charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, assault and eluding.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Claire Vitikainen wrote in a court filing about the amended charges that Carbajal had raised a mental health defense, and this resolution secured treatment while avoiding significant risk at trial for the defendant should this defense be unsuccessful.
In court Tuesday, Stewart said Carbajal was a docile, peaceful young man with no significant criminal history. Court records show he has one misdemeanor on his record for negligent driving in Seattle in 2013.
Stewart said Carbajal’s family members, some of whom were in court for the sentencing hearing, spoke about him as a person who was kind and empathetic, and they had tried in the past to get him help.
“It’s a tragic situation, but this is the best case outcome,” Stewart said.
A psychological evaluation conducted by an expert at the behest of the defense showed Carbajal had a history of severe mental illness in his family.
The evaluation also noted that the onset of symptoms of mental illness coincided with heavy cocaine use, but that the symptoms persisted during periods of sobriety in custody. An evaluation done by a psychologist with the state Office of Forensic Mental Health Services supported insanity at the time of the offenses while raising concerns about drug use.
At the end of Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Carbajal stood and told Judge Michael Schwartz he wanted to offer his sincere apologies. Schwartz ultimately imposed the prison term recommended by both prosecutors and the defense, and he ordered that the completed mental health evaluations be used to develop a treatment plan for the defendant.
