Shooting suspect wanted in Kent turns himself in at county jail

A man wanted by Kent Police in connection with an East Hill shooting turned himself in Monday at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Wendall Oliver Adams Jr.

Wendall Oliver Adams Jr.

A Kent man wanted by Kent Police in connection with an East Hill shooting turned himself in Monday at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

King County prosecutors allege the man shot at an unarmed man multiple times in broad daylight at a Kent apartment complex in what appears to be an unprovoked attack.

Wendall Oliver Adams Jr., 26, showed up with family members at the county jail at the Regional Justice Center and told officers he had seen himself on Q13 Fox’s Washington Most Wanted List, according to David Rose of Q13 and King County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Cindi West.

Kent Police had been looking for Adams since he reportedly shot and injured a man July 8 during an altercation at the Summerwalk Apartments in the 22400 block of Benson Road. Paramedics transported the man to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Officers booked Adams on Monday into the county jail for investigation of first-degree assault, according to jail records. Bail was set at $500,000 for Adams, who has approximately nine felony convictions, according to charging papers.

Adams is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, July 23 at the Regional Justice Center, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

The two men argued on July 8 before Adams allegedly fired several shots. Police considered Adams armed and dangerous.

According to court documents, Adams had borrowed a car belonging to the mother of his former girlfriend. The mother called her son to go with her to the apartment complex where Adams lived to get the car back.

The man went to the apartment of Adams and told him at the door that his mother wanted to talk to him. Adams said he would be out in a second.

When Adams came out of the apartment, he was holding a black handgun and pointed the gun at the son of the woman. He then fired three or four times at the man, who fell to the ground. Adams then walked over to the man, stood above him and fired about three more shots at him before he fled on foot.

The man was treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and underwent surgery for a single gunshot wound that struck his femoral artery (in the thigh), bladder and colon, according to charging papers.

Adams criminal history includes convictions for first-degree robbery in 2006; second-degree robbery in 2000 as a juvenile; first-degree escape in 2004; hit and run in 2003; attempting to elude a pursuing police officer in 2003; first-degree theft in 2002; hinder law enforcement in 2002; unlawful possession of a firearm in 2001; dangerous weapons in 2001; and fourth-degree assault in 1999.

 

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