A verbal argument over a broken-down vehicle on a rural Gig Harbor road ended with gunfire, and Pierce County prosecutors have now charged a 12700 block of Wright Bliss Road NW driver in connection with the shooting. Jake Randal Deines was charged with drive-by shooting and second-degree assault after deputies say he fired a handgun from a silver Volkswagen Beetle following a heated confrontation with a family whose car had broken down along the roadside.
According to King 5, family members had stopped in Gig Harbor because their vehicle had broken down when an argument developed between them and the driver of the Volkswagen, which had stopped near the disabled car while people were working on it. The Volkswagen then drove away, and the family reportedly heard gunshots shortly after. A woman in the group told the outlet she heard about six shots from around the corner and feared for herself and her children, prompting her to tell her family they needed to leave.
Deputies Track Down the Volkswagen on SR 302
Deputies later spotted a silver Volkswagen Beetle with a spoiler on State Route 302 and stopped the vehicle, per the report. Deines was identified as the driver, and a witness reportedly identified him as the man behind the wheel during a six-photo lineup shown to investigators, according to court records cited by the station. Deputies say they found a black Smith & Wesson Bodyguard handgun behind the passenger seat, and Deines allowed deputies to retrieve the weapon.
Deines acknowledged there was a gun in the vehicle but denied shooting at anyone, telling deputies he had only slowed down to yell, “you can't park there,” per the sheriff's report referenced in the coverage. He reportedly told investigators he had instead fired the gun at a shooting pit the previous day. Deputies found no bullet strikes on the family's vehicle, the report notes, though the magazine recovered from the handgun contained three rounds. A Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 ACP typically ships with a six-round factory magazine, according to GunMag Warehouse, a detail that helps reconcile the witness account of roughly six shots with the three live rounds deputies say remained behind the passenger seat.
Drug Charge Could Still Be Added
Investigators also say they found a baggie of cocaine in Deines' wallet along with a $2 bill bearing cocaine residue, and the substance later tested positive for cocaine. Prosecutors indicated they could add a controlled substance possession charge in addition to the drive-by shooting and second-degree assault counts already filed, and could also add further second-degree assault charges tied to the incident.
Under Washington law, drive-by shooting is a Class B felony carrying up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine when a firearm is recklessly discharged from or near a vehicle in a way that creates a substantial risk of death or serious injury, according to the Washington State Legislature. The drive-by shooting charge against Deines alleges he recklessly fired the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard from or near a vehicle, creating that same substantial risk. Second-degree assault is also a Class B felony under state law, punishable by up to 10 years and a $20,000 fine, and it counts as a violent felony strike, though standard sentencing ranges for first-time offenders without a prior record typically start at just 3 to 9 months. Simple possession of cocaine, the drug charge prosecutors are weighing, is a gross misdemeanor under the state's Uniform Controlled Substances Act, carrying up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for a first offense.
A Rural Road With a History of Violent Calls
The 12700 block of Wright Bliss Road NW, where the shooting was reported around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 7, falls within the patrol territory of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office Peninsula Detachment, which serves the Key Peninsula out of Gig Harbor. The road itself is a narrow, rural connector running between State Route 302 and Kitsap County, with parking largely restricted to unpaved shoulders near recreation areas like Key Central Forest — a layout that can turn a disabled vehicle on the roadside into a flashpoint for conflict.
It isn't the corridor's first brush with serious violence. In September 2020, deputies arrested a suspect on first-degree assault charges after an 80-year-old victim was struck with a hammer at a home on the same road, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office. Local leaders have separately raised concerns about rural patrol coverage; county officials discussed funding and deputy staffing for the Peninsula Detachment in December 2025 after repeated requests to bolster rural coverage for Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula, per Gig Harbor Now.
This is not the first drive-by shooting case to draw charges in the area. In January 2025, Pierce County prosecutors charged two individuals with drive-by shooting and assault following a separate 2023 Gig Harbor drive-by shooting. Concerns over rural law enforcement coverage have also fed a broader local movement: in March 2026, Key Peninsula residents formed an exploratory committee to study breaking away from Pierce County entirely and forming a separate “Peninsula County” with its own sheriff, courts, and road maintenance, a proposal that would cover roughly 88,000 registered voters.
