A Pierce County man who was arrested after he chased down a teenager he suspected of trying to steal his car, fired a gun, forced him into his vehicle and then allegedly held the boy at gunpoint while waiting for law enforcement won't face further jail time.
Brian Jones Canady, 66, pleaded guilty Friday to unlawful imprisonment and aiming or discharging firearms, dangerous weapons. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Sabrina Ahrens sentenced him to time served for the first offense — a day in jail — and gave him a suspended sentence of a year in jail for the second.
Canady also was sentenced to a year of community custody. The standard sentencing range for unlawful imprisonment, a felony, is one to three months in jail. Aiming or discharging firearms, dangerous weapons is a gross misdemeanor, and the standard sentencing range is 364 days.
Prosecutors originally charged Canady with first-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment, felony harassment with threats to kill and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Charging documents alleged that Canady forced a 15-year-old boy into his car Aug. 12 in the Frederickson area and fired gunshots at the teenager and his friend.
Additional evidence in the case gave prosecutors reason to doubt that the original charges could be proven.
In a court filing requesting amended charges, deputy prosecuting attorney Sunni Ko wrote that surveillance video was recovered which didn't support a witness' claim that Canady pointed a gun at her. Ko added that there was no evidence that Canady struck the victim in the head with a gun or fired the firearm in his direction.
Canady's defense attorney, Bryan Hershman, commended the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for reducing his client's charges and said Canady was a victim who defended himself under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Hershman said Canady had just gotten home and hadn't unloaded everything from his car when he noticed three people in the vehicle.
"He doesn't know if they're armed, he doesn't know — they're trying to steal his car — he doesn't know if they have his wallet, he doesn't know anything," Hershman said. "So he runs back in the house, gets his gun and gives pursuit. Now they see him and they start running."
Canady chased the three in his car and caught one of them. Hershman said Canady fired a "warning shot" to let the teenager know he was serious.
"Pins the kid to the ground, throws him into the car, brings him back to his house, pins him on the driveway and calls 911. Says, 'I'm a victim of a theft,'" Hershman said. "Police show up and what do they do? They arrest him."
Hershman chalked the arrest up to "woke culture" and called it "unbelievable."
Pierce County Sheriff's Department deputies were dispatched to the incident just after 10 p.m. for reports of a possible kidnapping near 152nd Street East and Brookdale Road East. According to court records, two people called 911 after witnessing a man force a boy into his car.
The first caller was driving when she saw the incident, and she reported that the man also fired two gunshots and pointed the weapon at her. The second caller was the teenager's friend, and he reported that they were playing "ding dong ditch" when the man pulled up in his car, shot at them and grabbed his friend.
While deputies were investigating, Canady called law enforcement to report a vehicle prowl just south of the deputies' location, records state. Deputies met Canady there, and he matched the first 911 caller's description of the shooting suspect. The witness was brought to the scene and positively identified Canady, who was then arrested.
The teenager who was taken in the car told deputies that before Canady forced him into the vehicle, he was with a friend who was doing "something shady," records state. The teenager said they were confronted by Canady while they were walking on Brookdale. He said he was forced into the car at gunpoint, and he said Canady continued to hold him at gunpoint and threatened to kill him after he was driven back to the man's house.
___
(c)2024 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Visit The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) at www.TheNewsTribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
