SEATTLE — A Seattle man appeared in federal court Tuesday after he was indicted for an armed carjacking near Lumen Field in June.
Authorities said Louis Montel De’Andre Dowers, 32, was arrested June 9, hours after he allegedly carjacked a BMW outside the Seattle Team Shop on Occidental Avenue South.
According to the indictment the victim was waiting in the driver's seat of his car outside a business in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood. Dowers is accused of approaching the car, pulling out a firearm and ordering the victim to get out of the car, according to the indicment. The wife of the victim was nearly hit by the car as it raced away.
“The Carjacking Task Force, made up of federal agents, Seattle and Kent police officers, and state and federal prosecutors, are diligently reviewing carjacking incidents for those appropriate for federal prosecution,” said Tessa Gorman, United States attorney. “Here, where a firearm was pointed at the driver, and the car commandeered and stolen, the federal penalties are significant and appropriate for the conduct that put lives at risk.”
Hours later authorities found the car abandoned near a middle school in Auburn. Using a description of the alleged carjacker, a King County Sheriff's deputy found Dowers walking near the school. He had a semi-automatic firearm with him when he was arrested, according to authorities.
Carjacking is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and carries a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison.
Dowers was moved to the King County Jail Tuesday morning.
