TACOMA — A woman was on her first date with a man Saturday in Steilacoom when her former boyfriend walked up to the car the two were in and started shooting, according to charges filed Tuesday.
The man, 19, was killed, and the woman suffered life-threatening injuries. She was shot four times in the chest and shoulder. Neither victim has been publicly identified. Prosecutors wrote in charging documents that surveillance footage showed the accused gunman dropping the woman off at St. Joseph Medical Center and fleeing without speaking with hospital staff.
Emilio Anthony Joseph John, 21, was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with first- and second-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on John’s behalf at arraignment Tuesday afternoon.
During arguments for bail, deputy prosecuting attorney Wesley Yu said the woman John is accused of shooting is still in critical condition, and it’s unclear if she will survive. He said John was in possession of four firearms when he was arrested. According to court records, those included three handguns and a shotgun. Court Commissioner Philip Thornton set bail at $1.5 million.
The exact relationship between John and the woman he is accused of shooting is unclear. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, John had a child in common with her, and the two had been fighting recently because John found out she was talking with another man. In interviews with detectives, John allegedly said they dated for about four years and then started seeing other people.
To identify John as the suspected shooter, detectives used cell phone records, surveillance footage from the hospital and statements made to police. The defendant had recently assaulted and pointed a gun at his former girlfriend, according to the probable cause document, and he allegedly threatened to kill her.
After John was arrested, he agreed to an interview with detectives and said he didn’t know why he was under arrest, records say. He allegedly said that on the day of the shooting, Nov. 5, he worked from 1 to 6:30 p.m. and then went drinking with a coworker. Detectives then told him about cell phone records and surveillance footage that tied him to the shooting. John requested an attorney, and the interview ended.
Charging documents gave this account:
Officers from Steilacoom and DuPont police departments were dispatched Sunday to 1914 Commercial St. after the victim’s parents found him there and called 911. He was in the driver’s seat of a Kia Forte with multiple gunshot wounds and appeared to have been dead for several hours, records say.
Police canvassed the area for witnesses, and one resident reported hearing gunshots Saturday night sometime between 7:30 and 8 p.m.
The victim’s parents last heard from him over text message Saturday evening, and they believed he had been with his “‘on and off’ girlfriend,” according to the probable cause document. In the passenger seat of the car, police found a purse and a pink phone, so dispatchers checked local hospitals for gunshot victims. Police learned a woman was in critical condition at Tacoma General Hospital, transferred there from St. Joseph’s Medical Center.
Detectives interviewed the woman, who could only respond by nodding or writing answers to questions because she was intubated. According to the probable cause document, she indicated she met the 19-year-old man online, and they were in her car when a man in a mask walked up and shot them.
The woman was able to confirm that the defendant was the person who dropped her off at the hospital, but she wasn’t sure how he knew where to find her, and she said she didn’t know who shot her.
Surveillance video from St. Joseph Medical Center showed a man identified as John pull up to the hospital in a Dodge Charger, according to the probable cause document. John ran inside, grabbed a wheelchair, then removed the woman from his car and wheeled her into the emergency room department. Then he drove off.
Detectives obtained a warrant for John’s cell phone records, which showed his phone pinging off of a cell tower in Silverdale. Records showed the defendant has a relative who lives in that area. There, detectives found John’s Charger and set up surveillance. Detectives saw John leave shortly after midnight Monday, and he was taken into custody without incident.
