An Oak Harbor man is accused of committing a drive-by shooting in Mount Vernon and then leading police on a high-speed chase from Anacortes to Bellingham this week, according to court documents.
The suspect, Nathan Trujillo, is well know to law enforcement on Whidbey Island. In 2017, he was shot in the arm by an Oak Harbor police office while he was holding a woman at gunpoint in the area of Hal Ramaley Memorial Park on Bayshore Drive. He was convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to five years and six months in prison.
A year ago, Trujillo was arrested for stabbing a family member with a pocket knife, according to court documents.
In the recent case, prosecutors charged 28-year-old Trujillo in Skagit County Superior Court Oct. 1 with assault in the first degree, drive-by shooting, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and unlawful possession of a firearm.
On Sept. 30, police received reports that a man driving a gold Dodge Avenger shot multiple times at a pedestrian on East College Way in Mount Vernon. The victim was transported to the hospital with serious injuries, and a bullet was recovered during surgery, according to a report by an officer with the Mount Vernon Police Department.
Officers identified Trujillo as the possible shooter from surveillance video, the report states. His mother also called police to report that Trujillo had stolen his father’s gun and that she suspected him of the shooting.
That night, an Anacortes police officer saw the car traveling on Highway 20 and followed it, eventually pulling the car over.
But as the officer was exiting his car at the traffic stop, Trujillo took off at high speed. The officer pursued him down the highway at speeds of more than 100 mph. Trujillo entered the city of Burlington at high speed and then turned onto Interstate 5, the report states.
Troopers with the Washington State Patrol stopped the car on I-5 in Bellingham by using spike strips and a PIT maneuver. Officers used a taser to take Trujillo into custody, court documents state.