FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Washington State Patrol (WSP) troopers arrested a suspect believed to be involved in some of the recent shootings that happened on highways in south King County.
Marco A. Ramos Valdez, 28, of Auburn was booked into King County Jail on suspicion of drive-by shooting and two counts of assault for two of the six shootings. He waived his first court appearance Saturday, Dec. 9. Bail was set Monday at $1 million.
Authorities have been investigating six shootings on south King County highways that happened Wednesday night. A driver in one of the shootings was struck in the neck by a bullet and treated at Harborview Medical Center. Probable cause documents said the victim's wife, who is six months pregnant, was in the passenger seat of the car.
Investigators said Valdez fired at least two shots. WPS believes based on the timing of three of the other shootings that the suspect may have been involved in a total of five shootings.
WSP connected the suspect to two of the shootings based on vehicle and suspect descriptions by witnesses and traffic cameras.
In court Saturday, the defense argued a lack of intent. They noted that Valdez said he had been hearing voices for several months. The defense also questioned how Valdez was identified.
"The description was a 30- to 40-year-old white male, and Mr. Valdez is a 28-year-old Hispanic man," Valdez's defense attorney said.
The suspect was arrested during a traffic stop Thursday night where troopers found a semi-automatic handgun, loose ammunition and spent shell casings in the back of his vehicle.
"In my view, the suspect's actions, the night of Dec. 6, met the very definition of an active shooter ... rather than shooting in a confined space that we're accustomed to, he used our freeway system to commit carnage, cause injury and create fear among the people using our transportation system," said WSP Cpt. Ron Mead.
One of the shootings occurred on southbound Interstate 5 near South 320th Street in Federal Way, according to WSP. Shortly after, another shooting was reported on northbound I-5 in SeaTac.
Trooper Rick Johnson tweeted Wednesday night about another shooting that took place on southbound State Route 167 near Ellingson. There was no suspect description, so it's unknown if it is connected to the I-5 shootings.
On Thursday, state patrol received calls from two additional victims who were shot on Wednesday night. One shooting was reported to have occurred around 9 p.m. on southbound I-5 in the Southcenter area. The other reportedly occurred around 9:15 p.m. on southbound I-5 near State Route 518. WSP has not yet been able to connect these shootings to the others.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said they expect to receive more information from WSP this week.
"The investigation is ongoing, and any additional information sent by the State Patrol to prosecutors can be presented to the court when we receive it," said Casey McNerthney, the prosecutor's office spokesperson.
KCPAO said Valdez has no previous criminal history in the county.
WSP is also investigating another shooting on southbound I-5 near 320th Street, but don't believe it's connected to any of the shootings. Johnson shared on a social post Thursday morning that a driver of a gray pick-up truck shot at a vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 immediately. WSP said it has seen 51 shootings on highways so far this year, down from 54 in all of 2022.