TACOMA — A Pierce County man is accused of driving over his 41-year-old neighbor and killing him during an argument Wednesday night.
Prosecutors charged Keaton Scott Ross, 27, with two counts of second-degree murder, court records show. Documents show the victim brandished a pocketknife during the argument, which led to Ross allegedly hitting him with a pickup.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Ross’ behalf during his arraignment Friday afternoon. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set his bail at $250,000.
Prior to McInvaille decision, Ross appeared visibly upset when deputy prosecuting Dalton Smith argued for bail to be set at $1 million. Smith said the incident was “an egregious attack.”
“This defendant ran into him three separate times with his vehicle. Even after knowing that he ran over him the second time, the defendant again hit the victim with his truck and hit him against a fence,” Smith said.
Ross’ attorney, Matthew McGowan, said the defendant does not have any criminal history in Washington. He also said the events that transpired Wednesday were not typical for Ross.
McInvaille agreed with prosecutors that Ross’ alleged response to the pocketknife being brandished was “severe.”
“I find that it poses a great danger to anyone if this is how Mr. Ross reacts to things,” she said.
The victim’s identity has not yet been released, pending confirmation from the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Charging details
Deputies were dispatched at about 10 p.m. to the 300 block of 384th Street South for a report of a dispute between two neighbors. Dispatch allegedly showed that during the 911 call, a man was heard saying, “You want to destroy my [explicit?]” before the line disconnected, according to charging documents.
Ross spoke to a deputy who said his neighbor destroyed two of his security cameras, prosecutors wrote. Ross said he saw through a video feed that the victim was hitting his security camera with a pole and went to confront him in his Ford F150.
During the confrontation, Ross told deputies the victim pulled out a knife and raised it above his head. Ross believed that the victim would have hurt him or damaged his truck, prosecutors wrote.
In response, Ross allegedly said he struck the victim, which made him fall. The victim got back up and Ross said he struck him again with the truck. After the victim got back up again, Ross said he struck him a third and final time. He reportedly told officers that he backed up to his home and called 911.
The man was found lying next to a white GMC Sierra and was declared dead at the scene, prosecutors wrote. A black folding knife that was partially open was found along a driveway, documents show. Ross was detained at his home.
In an interview, Ross told detectives that when he struck the victim, he believed it was his “only means of defense” and he feared for his life, documents show.
Ross said when he went to confront the victim over the security cameras, his parents told him to not be “physical,” prosecutors wrote. He told detectives that after the incident, his dad replied that it was “stupid” and Ross should have “ran away” when the confrontation became physical.
Ross told detectives he did not know the victim well and met him at a gas station one and a half years ago, prosecutors wrote. Ross introduced the victim to a neighbor who let him park his trailer on their property. Ross said he had previous altercations with the victim, including one where the man was armed with two knives and trying to fight him.
When a detective told Ross that he could have gotten away from the victim, he allegedly acknowledged that and said, “I could run away from the attacker, yes.” He also said he could have “done something a lot different” prior to confronting the victim and just called 911 over the broken cameras, documents show.
A death investigator noted the victim had several broken bones in his body and internal trauma, prosecutors wrote.
A detective said there was a distance of 525 feet between the area where the victim was killed and the home. Prosecutors wrote the detective noted that was significant because it “further demonstrated the amount of distance Keaton could have quickly put between himself” and the victim.
