LAKE STEVENS -- A bail bond agent fired several shots outside a Lake Stevens grocery store Friday afternoon as he tried to arrest a woman wanted on misdemeanor traffic warrants.
The woman, 25, of Lake Stevens allegedly tried to run over the agent with a pickup truck. Police are still investigating exactly what happened.
The woman was able to drive off and police still were looking for her Friday evening.
Police do not believe the woman was hurt, Lake Stevens Police Chief Randy Celori said.
The bail bond agent, Nathan Hingson, co-owner of Bail Bond by Nate of Lynnwood, said he had some cuts and bruises from the melee. He was not arrested after the gunfire.
Around 3 p.m., Hingson said he approached the woman who was in an older, large pickup outside Norm's Market at the corner of Lundeen Parkway and 101st Avenue NE.
Hingson tried to arrest her and she didn't comply, Celori said.
Hingson said he told the woman to get out her truck. When she didn't and started the engine, Hingson said he punched out the window to get the keys.
He said the woman started to drag him through the parking lot.
That's when, he said, he pulled his gun and told her to stop or he would shoot. He shot at her tires, he said.
"It's a big deal. I was more shaken after the fact than when it happened," he said.
Police said they believe at least eight shots were fired at the truck but the woman still was able to drive off. Hingson said he fired twice.
The woman ditched the truck a few blocks away and then ran off, Celori said. She's wanted on multiple local misdemeanor warrants, including driving with a suspended license, drunken driving and making a false statement to police.
"She was a typical problem client," Hingson said. The woman used his company to post a bail bond to get out of the Lynnwood jail and has failed to show up for court dates.
Hingson and police said the bail bondsman is cooperating with the investigation. Detectives will collect additional evidence and forward a report to Snohomish County prosecutors to determine if his use of deadly force was legally justified.
Bail bond agents are required to take special firearms training and are permitted to use firearms under Washington law. They still must meet a similar criteria that police use for deciding when it's appropriate to shoot someone, Celori said.
The police chief said the bail bond agent did not notify his department in advance of his plans to work in the city.
"I don't like it all," Celori said.
Lake Stevens has had issues with bail bond agents before, but nothing this "extreme," Celori said.
Last month, bail bond agents fatally shot a man in Lakewood in Pierce County. They said the suspect tried to run them over. That incident remains under investigation.
Hingson said he typically would have notified police in advance but stumbled upon the woman and things happened too quickly.
In 18 years of working as a bounty hunter, Hingson said Friday was the first time he's had to use his firearm.
The mid-afternoon incident was unsettling for people working and shopping at the store.
Barb Halverson was ringing up customers when the sound of gunfire rang out.
"I told everybody to get down," she said. Halverson called 911 and stayed on the line with dispatchers until officers arrived.
For Karen Haaseth, 63, a trip to buy cigarettes turned terrifying.
She parked next to the suspect's truck. Haaseth's car apparently was damaged in the melee.
Haaseth was about to leave the store when she heard yelling and then the "pop, pop, pop, pop" of gunfire.
"God, I didn't know where to run," she said.
She didn't like a firearm being shot so close to the store. Bullets could have ricocheted and hurt innocent people, she said.
"I don't think that was too smart. I'm sure there was another way he could have handled it," Haaseth said.
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