Prosecutors charged a man for two shootings in a series of freeway shootings on Dec. 6 in South King County on Interstate 5 that targeted multiple vehicles, injuring one.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged 28-year-old Marco Antonio Ramos-Valdez, an Auburn man, in two of five shooting incidents on Dec. 6 on Interstate 5 targeting vehicles.
Ron Mead, Captain of the Washington State Patrol, stated at a press conference that a sixth freeway shooting on Dec. 6 — an incident on Southbound Interstate 5 near South 320th Street in Federal Way involving the driver of a gray mid-2000s pickup truck firing at the victim — appeared to be unrelated.
Ramos-Valdez faces two felony counts of assault in the first degree for two shootings, including one resulting in the driver of a vehicle sustaining a gunshot wound to the neck.
“Additional information may come from the State Patrol. Their investigation is ongoing,” McNerthney stated in his email. “If we receive additional information, prosecutors will act on it with the same urgency.”
The Washington State Patrol has tied Ramos-Valdez to two freeway shooting incidents, Mead said at the Dec. 8 press conference.
“While we’re confident that we’ll tie him to additional shootings, we’ve not yet got anything with the others — just the first two,” Mead said.
Prosecutors stated both shootings were done randomly and without provocation in charging documents. The random shootings served as a high public safety risk, prosecutors stated.
Ramos-Valdez remains in jail on $1 million bail as requested by prosecutors, according to McNerthney’s email.
The court scheduled Ramos-Valdez’s arraignment for Dec. 21 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Bellevue police interviewed Ramos-Valdez after his arrest. Ramos-Valdez indicated to police that about nine months ago he started to hear voices threatening to kill him. He said to police he armed himself with a gun from his brother’s room less than a week prior to the freeway shootings.
Ramos-Valdez indicated the voices identified specific vehicles that served as a danger to him on Dec. 6, according to documents.
Ramos-Valdez’s sister confirmed that he expressed hearing voices, estimating the voices started five months ago.
According to the Washington State Patrol, the man who was shot in the neck sustained non-life threatening injuries, with the victim in stable condition and expected to make a recovery.
The passenger of the vehicle in the incident, a pregnant woman, sustained no injuries. She was transported to Saint Francis Medical Center for a healthcare check for her and her fetus.
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