Man charged in random Seattle freeway shootings faces new charges nearby

SEATTLE -- A man charged with randomly shooting at cars along Interstate 5 near Seattle on Labor Day faces additional charges for allegedly firing at vehicles in an adjacent county on the same night, court records show.

King County prosecutors filed five first-degree assault charges against Eric Jerome Perkins last week. They said he injured five people during a shooting spree on the freeway just south of Seattle, in King County, on the night of Sept. 2.

Pierce County prosecutors have filed four additional assault charges against Perkins, claiming he shot at four other people in three different cars in the Tacoma area later that night. They also added one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, saying he had a gun after having been previously convicted or found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Adam Faber, a Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesman, said since Perkins is being held in the King County jail on a $1 million bail, “I don't expect him in Pierce anytime soon.” His arraignment on the first set of charges is set for Sept. 19.

Perkins has a criminal history in California that includes two burglary convictions, two convictions for receiving stolen goods and one count of threatening with intent to terrorize and obstruct, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Herschkowitz said in a court filing.

Perkins was not being represented by a lawyer as of Monday, according to the King County Superior Court. Will Casey, spokesman for the King County Department of Public Defense, said their office has not been assigned to his case but may in the future. No lawyer was listed on the Pierce County case either, Faber said.

After the shootings near Seattle, Perkins headed south and fired at a Tesla on Interstate 5 near the town of Fife, according to the probable cause declaration. It said the two women in the car saw the driver in a white sedan pull up next to them and fire a shot, hitting both in the neck. They were taken to the hospital, where one remains.

At about 10:55 p.m., another driver reported a car pulled up beside his van near the Tacoma Dome and fired two shots into the passenger side. The van driver took evasive action to avoid being shot again. A third victim said the white sedan fired a shot shattering the passenger side window and cutting his arm.

Perkins was arrested in Pierce County at about 12:40 a.m. on Sept. 3. He told police that people were “stealing his identity, making threats and following him,” so he “took matters into his own hands” and shot at cars to get them to “back off,” Washington State Patrol Detective Russell Haake said in a court filing.

Perkins claims he tried to get help from the Tacoma and Fircrest police departments, but when that failed, he feared for his life and borrowed a Glock 40 handgun from a friend, according to the filing. He told the trooper that he shot at the cars because they were trying to box him in.