MILL CREEK — A Mill Creek police sergeant fatally shot a Kent man Jan. 25 because he believed the suspect was going to ram him with a pickup truck, according to court papers.
Detectives found evidence to support Sgt. Ken Neaville’s statement, including gouge marks on the push bar on the front of Neaville’s patrol vehicle, a search warrant affidavit filed late last week in Cascade District Court said.
Neaville shot Jesse Quincy, 33, in the head. Quincy died later at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Snohomish County Multi-Agency Response Team, a specialized group of detectives often called in to investigate officer-involved shootings.
Once detectives finish, they expect to send the findings to Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Mark Roe, who will decide if any illegal conduct contributed to the shooting.
As part of their investigation, detectives searched the GMC pickup Quincy was driving at the time he was shot. The search warrant affidavit provides glimpses of what detectives saw at the scene. It doesn’t included detailed statements by Neaville or witnesses, but instead gives some indications of what the officer told others within a couple hours of the shooting.
Mill Creek police were called early Jan. 25 to investigate a report of a Chevy Tahoe seen randomly driving in and out of driveways, according to the affidavit. Police attempted to stop the vehicle but it drove off. Neaville spotted the Tahoe, which was later identified as stolen, and chased it. The vehicle escaped and Mill Creek police officers began canvassing the area.
Quincy’s friends have said he drove to the neighborhood in a pickup truck, looking for a friend who was a passenger in the stolen Tahoe. The friend ran from the Tahoe after the pursuit and called Quincy for help, his friends said.
The day before the shooting, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge agreed to give Quincy 10 days to get his affairs in order before he was sent to prison. Quincy had pleaded guilty to drug and theft charges and was facing up to five years in prison, court records show.
He told the judge he needed time to move his belongings into storage.
On the morning of the shooting, Neaville reported that he was investigating a suspicious vehicle in the area and then later radioed that shots had been fired, according to the affidavit.
Neaville had pulled up behind Quincy’s truck in a driveway. Tire marks, shell casings and other evidence showed that Quincy apparently began to back up and Neaville fired his weapon, detectives wrote in the affidavit.
The rear passenger window and front driver’s side window were shot out of the pickup. Detectives found shell casings on the street near Neaville’s patrol car. The officer’s vehicle also had fresh scratches and gouges, court records said.
After Quincy was shot the pickup raced across a front yard and then crashed into two other vehicles across the street. The pickup’s back tires were shredded, likely because Quincy’s foot continued to press down on the accelerator after the crash, police wrote.
Investigators seized stereo equipment, a laptop computer and various bags found in the pickup.
A Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy drove Neaville to the Mill Creek police station and later reported that Neaville had told him during the ride that he thought the suspect was going to hit him, the affidavit said.
In keeping with the advice from his union attorneys, Neaville declined to provide a detailed statement to detectives the morning of the shooting. He has since been interviewed and returned to his regular duties last week.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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