Pierce County pee-wee football coach shoots player's father in drive-by, documents say

Sept. 10 update from The News Tribune:

A man attending his son’s youth football game Saturday evening in South Hill was shot by the coach — the mother’s boyfriend — after a disagreement, Pierce County prosecutors say.

The coach, a 37-year-old Lakewood man, was charged Monday afternoon in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree assault and drive-by shooting. His bail was set at $15,000.

The boy’s mother, a 41-year-old Lakewood woman, was charged Monday with rendering criminal assistance. She was released on her own recognizance and ordered to not contact her boyfriend or the shooting victim.

According to charging documents:

The father brought another of his sons to the game, which was played at Emerald Ridge High School in South Hill. After the game, the father got into an argument with the coach, his ex’s current boyfriend.

The father got into his vehicle with one son. The mother and coach got into her car with the other son. Then the cars took off in tandem from the school parking lot.

Then the coach leaned out of the car window and shot the man through his shoulder.

The man was able to drive to a nearby grocery store and call for help.

A deputy was able to find a .38-caliber shell casing where the shooting happened.

Deputies then went to the coach’s home and looked for the mother’s BMW, but they didn’t find it there. About an hour later, they returned and found the car was there.

The mother told law enforcement she keeps a .38-caliber handgun in her purse at all times, but she said her purse was in the back seat of her car, and that her boyfriend didn’t use the gun.

The boyfriend eventually turned himself into Lakewood police, apologizing multiple times, but never saying why he was apologizing.

Kenny Ocker: 253-597-8627, @KennyOcker

[ Story from The News Tribune ]

Earlier story:

Deputies in Pierce County are investigating a shooting that sent one man to the hospital Saturday evening.

The shooting occurred near Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup, but deputies said no students were involved.

Investigators said it began with a fight that ended with one victim in his 40s being shot. The man drove himself to a nearby store to call 911.