Whatcom County Sheriff Office deputies arrested a 47-year-old Puyallup man in connection to a drive-by shooting near Woodlawn Cemetery on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Deputies were called to a report of a driver brandishing a firearm around 10:15 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Northwest Drive and West Axton Road, said Deb Slater, the public information officer for WCSO. A witness had called 911 to report that they saw a driver discharge a firearm out of their vehicle window.
Deputies were able to locate the suspect and his car based on the witness description, Slater said. Deputies stopped the vehicle in the 400 block of W. Wiser Lake Road just before 10:30 p.m.
The deputies noticed the driver had an empty pistol holster at his waistband, Slater said. A passenger inside the vehicle confirmed the driver had been involved in a road rage incident and had shot a handgun during the altercation.
Passengers in the vehicle that saw the incident said the suspect had passed them on the shoulder of W. Axton Road and then pointed a pistol out of the driver’s side window, Slater said. While traveling north on Northwest Drive, the suspect then allegedly fired his weapon toward Woodlawn Cemetery a few moments later.
No one was injured in the shooting.
Deputies found a pistol and ammunition in the suspect’s vehicle, Slater said. A shell casing was also found on Northwest Drive near Paradise Road, which matched the ammunition found in the vehicle.
Probable cause was established to arrest the suspect for drive-by shooting, unlawful carrying or handling weapons apparently capable of producing bodily harm.
The suspect was taken into custody without incident, Slater said.
He was booked into the Whatcom County Jail around 11:45 p.m, according to online jail records.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
