Tacoma Mall gunman Dominick Maldonado may have cheated death a second time Wednesday when he unsuccessfully tried a prison break at Clallam Bay that left a fellow inmate fatally shot by a corrections officer.
Maldonado was sent to prison for 163 years for his November 2005 attack at the historic mall that left one man partially paralyzed. He may face charges in connection with the death of fellow inmate Kevin Newland, a convicted first-degree murderer from Spokane who took a bullet in the chest after crashing a forklift into a prison fence.
That Sunday, Maldonado called 911 dispatchers. He said he was armed and about to start shooting. Asked where he was, Maldonado replied, “Follow the screams.”—Tacoma News Tribune
The Seattle Times and Tacoma News Tribune reported the prison break in this morning’s editions, but the interesting stuff might be found in reader comments. Readers in Seattle and Tacoma are clearly without remorse for anything that might have happened to Maldonado, who held an officer hostage with a pair of scissors but surrendered, apparently before anybody could get a bead on him.
Law-enforcement officials found "escape paraphernalia" sewn into the clothing of both inmates — items such as food, medicine and water that would have helped them survive if they had escaped from the corrections center.—Ron Fraker, Superintendent of the Clallam Bay Corrections Center.
Maldonado might not be here today had the man he shot in 2005 not tried to talk him into surrendering, and instead have simply shot him where he stood. An employee at one of the Mall’s stores was armed and rushed to the sound of gunfire that day, but even though he would have been justified to open fire on Maldonado without warning or challenge, he tried to coax the gunman into dropping his gun. Instead, he was shot and severely wounded by the last rounds Maldonado apparently fired. Some suggest that the appearance of an armed citizen spooked the gunman into retreating into a store with four hostages.
At least one other person in the mall may have had a gun that day, but apparently only used it to cover the retreat and escape of several people.
Newland was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2006 death of 19-year-old Jamie Drake in Spokane County. Prosecutors said that Newland killed Drake, the roommate of his ex-girlfriend, to get her car.—Seattle Times
The Tacoma Mall does not allow firearms on its premises, and did not at the time of the attack.
Maldonado called 911 just before he started shooting to announce his intentions. He told a police dispatcher to “follow the screams.”
The 25-year-old Maldonado may do some screaming of his own. If he is charged and convicted in connection with Newland’s death, it will definitely take him out of the running for any leniency that may have one day been shown for time served. The maximum security section of a prison on the Strait of Juan de Fuca is hardly the ideal place to spend the rest of one's unnatural life.
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