Kent man charged in ex-wife’s shooting

By JIM HALEY

Herald Writer

A man who allegedly shot his ex-wife in the shoulder and then pursued her on a wild ride though Lynnwood was charged Friday with first-degree assault.

Samuel Joseph Hill, 31, of Kent was being held in the Snohomish County Jail on $250,000 bail in connection with the Oct. 23 incident.

The 32-year-old victim was shot in the right shoulder. The bullet lodged near her lung.

After being shot, she sped away from her home on 193rd Street SW with the defendant following, said deputy prosecutor Julie Twito.

The woman reached speeds of 60 to 80 miles per hour, and her horn was blaring, witnesses said. She ran a red light at the intersection of Highway 99 and 196th Street SW before losing control and striking a tree. Her car then spun around and struck a utility pole.

She was ejected from her car and was covered with blood when police pulled up, court documents said. She was taken to a Seattle hospital, where she was on life support for a while. She was released four days later after being treated for the gunshot wound and for injuries suffered in the accident.

Meanwhile, Hill parked not far from where his ex-wife crashed, and police found a .22-caliber pistol in his car. Lynnwood police also determined that the car he had been driving had been reported stolen in King County, Twito wrote in charging papers.

The incident started when the victim returned home from work and found Hill waiting for her. According to court papers, she had a court order prohibiting him from contacting her.

Hill accused her of being with other men, and an argument ensued. He allegedly pulled a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol and asked his ex-wife to shoot him "and put him out of his misery," court papers said.

She refused, took the clip out of the gun and left it in the home. She finally ran to her car to leave, and Hill followed her outside with the gun.

He allegedly screamed at her, yelled insulting comments and said he was going to kill her, papers said.

"Then he broke out the passenger-side front window and shot her with the gun," Twito wrote.

According to the prosecutor, Hill later told police he accidentally shot his ex-wife.

The prosecutor said Hill has three felony convictions, including burglary, auto theft and third-degree assault. He has more than a dozen adult misdemeanor convictions, including reckless driving, disorderly conduct and violation of protection orders.