A man allegedly shot at a Pierce County Sheriff's Department sergeant with a "ghost gun" in Graham Tuesday night. Moments later, the suspect crashed his vehicle into a ravine and made a getaway.
He was arrested Wednesday morning in the Orting Valley.
The chain of events began around 10:44 p.m. when the sergeant saw a van speeding through the 19600 block of Meridian. The van then ran a red light at 204th Street East, according to the Sheriff's Department.
The sergeant attempted to stop the van as it turned west onto 224th Street East. The van then turned around and drove back toward the sergeant.
As the two vehicles passed each other, the van driver allegedly fired a handgun at the sergeant, the Sheriff's Department said. The deputy was not struck by gunfire.
As the sergeant pursued it, the van crashed 50 feet down a steep ravine off Jansky Road East.
An aerial drone was dispatched to get a view of the crash site but vegetation obscured the scene.
Deputies from SWAT and Search & Rescue eventually reached the van but found it unoccupied. They did find a "ghost gun" — an untraceable gun assembled from a kit — and a shell casing.
Arrest
The Sheriff's Department was able to identify and locate the suspect but did not say how, according to a Facebook post.
Wednesday morning, deputies surrounded a trailer in the Orting Valley and ordered the suspect to come out. The suspect surrendered peacefully.
The man was arrested and received treatment for injuries from the collision.
He will be booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of assault and eluding. The potential assault charge could be upgraded to attempted murder pending an investigation, the Sheriff's Department said.
