KING COUNTY, Wash. — The man suspected of stabbing three people inside a stolen BMW, including one fatally, on Interstate 5 in late June has been charged with murder.
Jeffrey Scott faces one count of murder in the second degree for allegedly slashing the throat of Patriot Lemay, the driver of the stolen BMW. He also is charged with two counts of assault for stabbing the two other occupants of the vehicle, court documents in the case say.
On June 26, Scott was in the backseat of a BMW. LeMay was driving northbound on I-5 with two other passengers. Prior to, the parties all told police they were smoking methamphetamine and fentanyl. At some point, Scott pulled out a knife and cut LeMay's throat before beginning to stab the other two passengers, court documents say.
LeMay was able to pull the car over to the side of the freeway after he was attacked and pulled out a gun to shoot at Scott, court documents say. The two other passengers managed to get out of the car and run for help after LeMay succumbed to his injuries. Scott jumped out of the car and fell to the ground. Crime scene technicians eventually recovered seven spent shell casings in the vehicle, as well as "multiple smoking devices used to ingest drugs."
Scott was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center for treatment, and when detectives arrived, nurses told them Scott was saying he was seeing things and hearing voices. After a scattered interview, Scott asked to speak with detectives the following day, according to court documents.
He told the detectives that LeMay and one of the other passengers were speaking about killing him while they all were in the vehicle, and "out of fear," he cut LeMay's throat and then stabbed the other two passengers. Scott also told detectives that he had been ordered at gunpoint to go with LeMay and the other passengers, something those two passengers did not say was the case.
Probable cause documents say when he was asked why his story was so different from the other two passengers, he "did not know why."
Scott was arraigned Wednesday where prosecutors requested $5 million bail. Prosecutors wrote that Scott is "an extreme threat to the public." Court documents also say Scott remains hospitalized at St. Joseph's in Tacoma from his injuries.
Originally from Florida, Scott has multiple convictions in his home state including lewd or lascivious battery of a victim aged 12-16 and a misdemeanor DUI conviction, court documents say.
