BREMERTON — A 23-year-old man suspected Wednesday of trying to carjack an idling pickup truck with a 2-year-old boy inside — leading the boy’s mother to fight him off — allegedly committed several more felonies as he tried to escape pursuing police.
Da’Shawn Eugene Jackson, who was released from prison in October, was charged Thursday with robbery, kidnapping, burglary and assault for kicking a Bremerton Fire Department medic in the face.
As he was being chased by police, Jackson allegedly entered a yard and tried to get inside another vehicle and also ran into a stranger’s house through the front door and said he needed water, according to court documents.
After his arrest, Jackson told officers he had smoked Spice, a drug associated with paranoia and hallucinations, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Unknown what started the incident
The string of crimes started at about 4:25 p.m. on the 1500 block of Elizabeth Avenue, when a woman who had been checking on a property called 911 to report the carjacking.
Bremerton Police Lt. Randy Plumb said officers tried to interview Jackson on Thursday morning but were unable to determine exactly why he rushed the truck and tried to steal it.
“Our best guess is he saw an opportunity,” Plumb said.
Video shows carjacking
Surveillance video from a neighbor’s house shows a man without a shirt on – identified as Jackson – run up to the idling truck and climb into the driver’s seat as the woman walked around the other side, apparently not knowing a man had entered her vehicle.
When the women realized the man had gotten into her truck – with her 2-year-old son inside – she ran up to the door as the truck started to move forward. She opened the door and began struggling with the man, who punched her.
“She told him her son was in the truck and he was not taking the truck,” a detective wrote.
The woman said she intertwined her arm in the steering wheel and stood on the running board as the truck lurched across the street and rammed a short concrete wall, stopping it.
The woman told officers Jackson said he was going to kill them during the struggle, according to documents.
After the truck stopped, Jackson fled.
A neighbor witnesses some of attack
A neighbor, Jayme Arries, heard the commotion outside and looked out a window to see the truck run into the wall and watched as the suspect ran.
“At first I wondered if it was a domestic dispute,” Arries said. “When I saw the guy run I realized it was a carjacking.”
Arries said neighbors know each other on the street and look out for one another. The street is near Evergreen Park and there are homeless encampments nearby. The street has a fair amount of foot traffic but the homeless people and park goers don’t generally cause problems, she said.
“It is scary when it happens there in your neighborhood,” Arries said. At first, she wondered why the woman fought the man for the truck but then saw her carrying her son afterward and understood.
“Mama bear,” she said.
Suspect tries to steal car, runs into house to hide from police
Officers who went to the area started chasing Jackson and found him in a yard “frantically” trying to enter a parked vehicle with a brass or gold-colored key. He ran again, crossing Warren Avenue – jumping in and then out of the bed of a pickup truck waiting at a stop light – and entered a house on the 1000 block of Warren Avenue, according to documents.
The residents of the house told officers Jackson was carrying a “gold blade looking item” in his hand and said he needed water. The residents told him to leave but they said he didn’t leave until he heard sirens.
Assault on medic, admits to smoking Spice
At this time, several officers were in pursuit and combing the area. Jackson was arrested and told officers he had smoked Spice.
Medics were called to evaluate Jackson. He was strapped to a gurney but when medics removed the straps to adjust his position he kicked a medic in the face. The medic was not injured, according to reports.
Spice is a drug that federal officials have tried to ban, but producers continually change the chemical makeup of the drug to dodge the laws. It is sold in shops under various brand names, sometimes marketed as incense. The effects can be strong and unpredictable.
Lengthy criminal history
Jackson has been jailed four times for community custody violations since his release from prison Oct. 26, according to state Department of Corrections records. He has a lengthy criminal and juvenile court history and spent time in foster care. Records show his adult criminal records is mostly for domestic violence-related crimes.
His most recent conviction, in 2015 for felony violation of a no-contact order, resulted in a 2-year prison sentence. That no-contact order stemmed from a third-degree assault conviction in 2014. Jackson was convicted of punching, choking, kicking his girlfriend, according to court documents.
Currently, Jackson is charged in Kitsap County Superior Court with first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, felony harassment, third-degree assault and attempted motor vehicle theft.
