3 teens arrested for deadly shooting of Kingston woman

PUYALLUP, Wash. - Two 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old were arrested in connection to the murder of a Kingston woman, who was shot and killed during an attempted robbery in Puyallup in February.

On Feb. 25 around 8:50 p.m., Puyallup police were called to an area near Sam Peach Park off 10th Ave. NW for reports of gunshots in the area. When they arrived, they didn't see any victims or property damage, but they found spent shell casings in the area.

Minutes later, just after 9 p.m., police were informed that a 22-year-old woman was brought into the emergency department at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Tacoma with a gunshot wound to the head.

Police later learned that she was the victim in the earlier shooting.

Unfortunately, she died from her injuries.

Initially, police believed the shooting stemmed from an argument between the woman and the suspects, but later discovered that the shooting was random and likely occurred as an attempted robbery.

According to court documents, the victim and several others were in an SUV and had stopped at the park to use the restrooms. The three suspects came up to the window of their vehicle, pointed guns at everyone and tried to rob them.

The driver of the SUV sped off, and at least one of the suspects fired at the retreating vehicle, hitting the 22-year-old victim, who was in the back.

The investigation over the last three months led detectives to three suspects who they believed were involved.

On June 4, the Pierce County Metro Cities SWAT team, along with Valley SWAT, served two search warrants in Federal Way and Puyallup. Two teenage boys, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old, were arrested in Federal Way and another 18-year-old was arrested in Puyallup in connection to the murder.

All were booked into Pierce County Jail and Remann Hall after their arrest.

The trio was identified when a patrol officer recognized the vehicle involved in the February shooting had also been involved in a serious injury crash that happened after the homicide. The driver in the incident fled from a traffic stop and crashed near the Washington State Fairgrounds. At the scene of the collision, an officer alerted detectives to the potential link between the vehicle and the homicide as the vehicle matched to the suspect's vehicle description from the homicide.

According to court documents, the suspects' cell phones pinged along the same route at the same time that the suspect vehicle was seen on surveillance taking after the shooting.

Both adult suspects have been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, drive-by shooting and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

The drive-by shooting charge stems from a separate incident.

If you have any additional information on the case, contact Capt. Kevin Gill with the Puyallup Police Department at keving@puyallupwa.gov and reference case #2405601993.