Docs: Man arrested, charged with murder after chasing down and shooting suspected car thieves

SEATTLE - Seattle Police have arrested a man accused of chasing down suspected car thieves and shooting them, killing one.

Prosecutors have charged 45-year-old Aaron J. Mitchell with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder from an incident on Oct. 7, 2022.

According to court docs, two men—27-year-old Joshua Blackwood and a 53-year-old man—were prowling for cars to steal near 11th Ave and E Fir St before 4:30 a.m., traveling in a white tow truck. They spotted a black Tahoe parked in the area they believed was abandoned.

The 53-year-old later told police they had already stolen the stereo from the SUV.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Shooting in Seattle's Yesler Terrace neighborhood leaves 1 dead, 1 injured

Court docs say they pulled over, and while the 53-year-old stayed in the truck, Blackwood reportedly went and tried to start the Tahoe several times, but it did not work. They drove away while Blackwood looked up ways to get past the kill switch. The two circled back around and Blackwood tried to start the Tahoe for a long time, but was again unsuccessful.

They left the area but ended up circling back around, when they saw a man standing by the Tahoe—who court docs identify as Mitchell—who got in a nearby black sedan and followed them.

According to court docs, Mitchell drove after them and fired at them several times with a handgun. At one point, the tow truck was disabled by gunfire, and Mitchell got out, walked up to them and asked, "You guys are stealing from me?" He then reportedly pulled a gun on them, and the two men tried to drive off.

Mitchell allegedly drove after them, then pulled alongside the tow truck and started shooting at them.

Both men were hit by gunfire and tried to escape by driving through neighborhoods in the Yesler Terrace area. They neared the 53-year-old's apartment, and went into a nearby alley, but the truck got hung up on some cinderblocks. The 53-year-old told police he immediately got out and ran, and believes he was hit by a bullet as he ran.

Another witness to the incident said Mitchell walked up to the tow truck window and shot into it. Blackwood was killed in the encounter, and an autopsy revealed significant blunt force trauma, suggesting Mitchell pistol-whipped him several times around the time of the shooting.

Court docs say after the incident, Mitchell took "extraordinary steps" to evade capture by police—torching his girlfriend's car, never returning to his apartment after a search warrant was executed, granting power of attorney to his girlfriend to clean out the apartment in his absence, and not returning to work.

Law enforcement says they could only track down Mitchell's location by pinging his girlfriend's cell phone, which led them to her home in Federal Way.

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Prosecutors have asked for Mitchell to be held on $3 million bail, citing a risk to community safety.

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