Man shot someone he thought was child molester, fled to Las Vegas, records show
A Pierce County Superior Court commissioner has issued a warrant for a man who allegedly shot a man in the back in Parkland, then fled to Las Vegas.
According to court documents, 31-year-old Deven Alexander Manzanares allegedly shot the man in the back at about 10 p.m. on June 6 in the 10900 block of Park Avenue South in Parkland.
Deputies found the victim lying on the sidewalk, conscious but unable to identify the shooter, documents say. The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
“I don’t have a status on the victim, but it was a ‘bird shot’ from a shotgun,” Carly Cappetto, spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a message to The News Tribune on June 16. “He had small pellets lodged in his skin all over his back.”
Deputies interviewed witnesses, who said they heard a single gunshot and then saw a “small, older dark colored two door vehicle” fleeing eastbound on 110th Street South and northbound on Park Avenue South, according to the documents.
“Descriptions [included] a Honda S2000 type vehicle and other older dark two door models,” documents say. “A nearby camera later captured video of a black Volkswagen Cabrio convertible.”
On June 7, Manzanares’ friend called police and said Manzanares had allegedly messaged her over Instagram and confessed to the shooting.
“[He] admitted to her via Instagram that he shot a ‘40 year old male’ the previous night after pulling up next to someone he believed was a child molester,” documents say. “...[he] later asked her for money between [5 a.m. and 6 a.m.] because he was ‘stuck.’”
The friend and Manzanares’ mother confirmed to police that Manzanares drives the same car spotted on camera and referenced in witness statements, the documents say. Police filed a search warrant for phone records, which allegedly showed Manzanares’ phone was at the location at the time of the shooting, then traveled south and reached Las Vegas by June 9.
Court records show that Manzanares is facing charges of first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Commissioner Barbara McInvaille issued a nationwide warrant for Manzanares’ arrest on Monday, June 15, court records say.
The court previously charged Manzanares with second-degree theft, second-degree escape, third-degree retail theft with special circumstances and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, according to court records.
Documents say that Manzanares is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm, and he “has more recent and extensive criminal history out of Nevada,” including an arrest for robbery with a deadly weapon.
