TACOMA, WA – Today Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist charged Chase Devyver, 29, with murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. He attacked his girlfriend with a knife and stabbed a man to death for intervening.
“This is another unfortunate example of the havoc wreaked by domestic violence,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.
In the early morning hours of Jan. 19, 2014, the defendant and his girlfriend were sitting in a parked car in front of their residence in South Hill. They were arguing about their relationship. When the victim exited the vehicle and walked toward the house, the defendant followed and stabbed her from behind. The victim’s screams woke up a friend that was sleeping in another room. He intervened and the defendant stabbed him as well. The defendant then retrieved a gun from another room and demanded the female victim’s debit/credit card. He hit her in the head with the gun, took her keys, and stole her car.
Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies spotted the vehicle on 176th Street East. The defendant led police on a pursuit that reached speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour towards Canyon Road. The defendant lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a power pole. After he climbed out of the vehicle, he told deputies to shoot him. He was tased and arrested.
The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned today at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 270 of the County-City Building in Tacoma. Charges are only allegations and a person is presumed innocent unless he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
