A King County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a 25-year-old man in the parking lot of a Burien apartment complex Sunday, April 17, following a high speed car chase. The man’s address on his car registration is in Covington.
He was shot 8:20 p.m. and died at the scene.
The man was wanted by the sheriff’s office for felony eluding involving an April 10 incident, and he was wanted for questioning in a similar eluding case earlier in the day Sunday.
The April 10 incident began at about 5:30 p.m. when deputy tried to stop a dark Honda after he saw the car go through a red light at a high rate of speed. He tried to pull the car over at South 120th and Des Moines Memorial Drive, but the driver refused to stop.
The chase continued for several blocks until terminated due to speeds in excess of 70 mph. Later the deputy identified the driver of the 1990 Honda Accord from a photo montage prepared by detectives. The driver is the registered owner of the vehicle, with an address in Covington.
Sunday a different deputy saw the same Honda Accord in the area of Southwest 108th and 1st Avenue Southwest. The driver was spinning his tires doing a burn out with smoke coming from the tires. The driver saw the deputy, but continued the burn out in reverse.
A chase ensued over several blocks. At South 128th and 24th Avenue South other deputies set out spike strips, but the man saw the spikes and turned off at the last moment. The chase was terminated shortly thereafter. At one point the deputy estimated the Honda reached a speed of 100 mph.
The deputy was unable to identify the driver, but based on the license plate, it was the same Honda Accord involved in the April 10 chase.
At 8:05 p.m. the deputy from the case earlier in the day, April 17, spotted the Honda in the parking lot of the Arbor Court Apartments, 2225 S. 112th St., which is in the city of Burien. The car was unoccupied.
The deputy called for plain clothes detectives to assist. Several responded in unmarked cars to stake out the suspect vehicle. If the driver returned, the plan was to box the vehicle in and not let it leave the apartment parking lot.
At about 8:20 p.m. a male got into the car and a female into the passenger seat. Just before the exit from the complex onto South 112th, police cars including at least one fully marked unit tried to keep the suspect from leaving the lot. However the suspect driver struck three cars trying to get out and around the police cars, and shots were eventually fired by one deputy. Deputies gave cardiopulmonary resuscitation until a medic unit arrived. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by medics at 8:56 p.m..
The woman passenger was not injured. However shortly afterwards she became unresponsive and was taken to Highline Hospital for treatment. Methamphetamine was found on her person during treatment. She was released from the hospital about 5 a.m. and booked into King County jail for possession of drugs and several arrest warrants.
The name of the suspect will be released by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. The man has two felony convictions on his record including theft and possession of stolen property.
The passenger was also a twice-convicted felon (drugs and theft) and had a felony arrest warrant for escape from community custody and three misdemeanor warrants.
The deputy who fired the shots was placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure. He is 42 years old and has been with the Sheriff’s Office 14 years. He is assigned to a neighborhood crime unit.
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