Tacoma, Washington — (News Release / Pierce County Sheriff) — At 3:40 p.m. on Sunday June 18, our deputies were dispatched to a 911 call from employees at the Jack in the Box restaurant on Meridian Ave. E. in South Hill, who were reporting that a customer had pointed at gun at them.
The frightened employees told deputies they had been working the drive-thru area and that the business was very busy. When a black car pulled up to the drive-thru window, the occupants in the vehicle had an attitude with the employees over having to wait for their food. The driver told the employee working the window that they had forgot her drink and that the employees did not give her enough chicken nuggets.
The driver then complained something was in her drink, and threw her drink at the employee through the window. The employee then closed the window, the driver and the female passenger exited the vehicle and began punching the drive-thru window; throughout the incident the driver and the passenger were screaming and cursing at the employees. When the four employees looked out the window to see if the vehicle had left, the driver pointed a handgun at them. The employees all ran from the window or jumped to the ground to hide. The suspects entered their vehicle and fled westbound on 160th St. E.
Witnesses were able to provide a license plate number for the vehicle, which was registered to an address less than 2 miles away on 92nd Ave. E. When deputies arrived at the location, they vehicle was not in the driveway and there was no answer at the door; deputies looked through a window on the garage and saw the vehicle parked inside.
Another deputy driving through the neighborhood drove past a young teenage girl and a teenage male, who were observed walking briskly and repeatedly glanced over their shoulders at the patrol car. When the deputy made a U-turn, the male disappeared between the houses; the teenage girl was still walking down the street and was stopped by the deputy. The girl refused to identify herself but admitted to being at the Jack in the Box, and was placed in the back of a patrol car.
A patrol sergeant on foot in the neighborhood found the male suspect walking in the neighborhood; he appeared to be sweaty as if he had been running, so the sergeant asked to speak to him; the suspect took off running toward the residence where the vehicle had been located – but to his surprise there were several deputies there. The patrol sergeant chased after the male suspect, who was then tackled by a patrol deputy after failing to jump over two fences; as the sergeant searched the suspect he located a stolen 9 mm handgun loaded with 14 hollow point rounds in the suspect’s pants pocket. The 18 year old male suspect was booked for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Resisting Arrest.
Deputies continued to knock on the door of the house was the car was located in hopes of locating the female driver. Eventually the door was answered and the homeowner allowed the deputies to come inside and look for the suspect. The deputies searched all of the rooms and could not locate the suspect, but they observed an attic access panel in the garage where the vehicle was parked; when deputies pulled down the panel they immediately saw the female suspect and another male hiding in the attic. Both were ordered down; the 19 year old female suspect was arrested for three counts of Assault in the 1st degree.
During the foot pursuit and house search, the teenage girl who was in the back of the patrol car repeatedly tried to kick out the car windows. She kicked and screamed profanities at the deputies, and had to be removed from the patrol car numerous times due to continued efforts to manipulate the handcuffs, seatbelt, and hobble placed on her. She told deputies that “none of this would have happened if the Jack in the Box people had just given them the correct order and not run their mouths”. The 14 year old girl was booked into Remann Hall for multiple charges including assault, possession of Xanax, and resisting/obstructing law enforcement.
