A 22-year-old Tumwater man accused of shooting at a driver Saturday is being held in Thurston County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Christian Joseph Olivencia attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Monday.
Deputies arrested Olivencia Saturday evening on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder following an apparent "road rage" incident on Yelm Highway Southeast, Thurston County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Brooks previously told The Olympian. Deputies believe Olivencia retrieved a gun to confront another driver but fired at the wrong car, Brooks said.
The Prosecuting Attorney's Office has accused Olivencia of first-degree assault while armed with a firearm and drive-by shooting instead of attempted murder, according to court records.
Court Commissioner Nate Kortokrax found probable cause for the alleged crimes and set the bail amount. In doing so, he determined there "existed a substantial danger" that Olivencia will commit a violent crime. Court records show Olivencia has no known criminal convictions.
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the incident from the perspective of law enforcement.
Multiple people called 911 after 8 p.m. to report a "disturbance with a gun" at the Yelm Highway and Meridian Road Southeast roundabout, according to the statement. Deputies responded at 8:33 p.m. and contacted the driver of a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta that was shot at near Yelm Highway and Englewood Drive.
The driver reportedly told the deputy he observed a black car driving recklessly and doing donuts in the roundabout. He said he passed the black car when he was able and continued west on Yelm Highway.
The Jetta driver said the driver of the black car, who deputies suspect to be Olivencia, then passed him on the right side of his Jetta and shot at him as he continued driving. He alleged Olivencia turned off his driving lights and fled the scene at a high speed, according to the statement. The Jetta driver then called 911.
The Jetta driver said he believed the driver of the black car shot at him because he was "mad at him for an unknown reason," according to the statement. He said he did not know the driver and had not gotten into any arguments at the last two places he had been.
Deputies reportedly observed a bullet hole in the rear passenger door of the Jetta. Another bullet appeared to have struck the dash and exited through the front window of the car, but the passenger window did not have an impact point.
The Jetta driver told deputies his windows were down at the time of the shooting, according to the statement.
Deputies found a black car at about 8:41 p.m. at a gas station on the 8300 block of Yelm Highway Southeast. The Jetta driver positively identified it as the car that was involved in the shooting.
Olivencia drove the black car and had a passenger with him. He reportedly told deputies that he and his passenger had been pepper sprayed during an argument with another driver. He then allegedly admitted to firing two rounds at another driver.
Deputies searched the Jetta and found no evidence of pepper spray inside. The statement notes the Jetta driver also did not appear to be suffering from secondary exposure to pepper spray.
However, the statement indicates Olivencia and his passenger both appeared to be suffering from the effects of pepper spray when deputies contacted them.
With a search warrant, deputies allegedly recovered a loaded Glock with a 17-round magazine from Olivencia's vehicle. The statement says no spent cartridge casings or pepper spray products were found in the vehicle.
Kortokrax ordered Olivencia's arraignment to be scheduled for 9 a.m. April 9.
