More than a year after a chaotic carjacking, multi-vehicle crash and police chase ended in gunfire on a Puyallup street, the Pierce County Force Investigation Team has sent its completed case file to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for review. The April 5, 2025 encounter left a suspect dead at the scene. The Pierce County Medical Examiner previously ruled the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds and listed the manner of death as homicide.
According to The News Tribune, Lakewood public-information officer Charles Porche said in a news release that PCFIT had forwarded the investigation packet to prosecutors, who had not immediately responded to requests for comment. The referral is the latest procedural step in a case that has remained under public scrutiny since April 2025.
How the chase unfolded
PCFIT's timeline reports that deputies were dispatched around 12:25 p.m. to the 10400 block of Portland Avenue East after an armed robbery was reported. Officers then responded to a collision near South 56th Street and Pacific Avenue, located a second stolen vehicle near East 35th Street and East D Street, and pursued the suspect onto River Road in Puyallup. Spike strips were deployed, and the chase ended when the car became disabled in the 500 block of Valley Avenue East. The sequence of events and the agencies involved are detailed in a release from the Pierce County Force Investigation Team.
Victim and officers identified
The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office later identified the person who died as 29-year-old Bret Winn and confirmed the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds, with the manner listed as homicide. In a May 2025 PCFIT release, investigators identified the officers who fired as Mohamud Ali of the Tacoma Police Department and Mitchell Alfaro of the Puyallup Police Department. The release stated that "Officers provided medical aid to the suspect prior to the arrival of medics/fire department," according to the Pierce County Force Investigation Team.
What happens next
With the investigative packet now in the hands of the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, prosecutors will review the evidence and decide whether criminal charges are appropriate. There is no set timetable for a decision. If prosecutors seek charges, they would file them publicly and the case would move through the county's standard charging and court process.
Earlier coverage
Hoodline covered the original chase and fatal shooting in April 2025, including how officers fatally shot an armed carjacking suspect after a multi-vehicle pursuit. See our earlier report on the armed carjacking suspect shot after chase. We will update this story if the prosecutor's office files charges or issues a public statement.
