LYNNWOOD — An attempt to surprise a wanted fugitive outside a bail bond business here resulted in gunfire Saturday after the man tried to smash his way to freedom in a stolen Jeep, according to court documents.
A Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy shot at the man, 24, to stop him from backing a stolen vehicle into a sheriff’s patrol car, the documents filed in Everett District Court said.
Officers reported smoke coming off the Jeep’s tires and the four-wheel-drive vehicle was starting to climb up over the patrol car when the deputy shot, documents said.
The man claimed the deputy’s bullet grazed his elbow. Police do not believe that is how he received the red mark, a possible abrasion, that “was clearly not a gunshot wound,” documents said.
The incident began outside a bail-bond business in Lynnwood late Saturday. Police received a tip the man might be there, the documents said.
Police said when they tried to arrest the man, who was wanted for at least six outstanding warrants, he sped off, driving over bushes and through landscaping before turning down a dead-end street.
That’s where deputies blocked him in. The man tried to use the Jeep to push the patrol car out of the way, the documents said.
A 20-year-old woman in the Jeep tried to run away and was caught by a police dog. She was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for parole violations.
The man was booked for investigation of second-degree assault, attempting to elude police, first-degree possession of stolen property, parole violations and the warrants.
In keeping with procedure, the deputy who fired the shot was placed on paid administrative leave while the firing of the weapon is investigated by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team. The special team of detectives routinely investigates police incidents involving the use of deadly force or serious injury to officers and suspects.
The investigation is continuing, Everett police Sgt. Jerry Strieck said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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