Man charged with hate crime in attempted murder at pot shop

Man charged with hate crime in Pierce County attempted murder case

TACOMA, Wash. - Investigators say a 31-year-old man shot a Black employee outside a popular Tacoma pot shop in a racially motivated attempted murder case, and the suspect’s cell phone searches have deputies concerned about what more he might have been planning.

Dallas Clayton Stevens is behind bars on a $750k bond.

Stevens is charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, possession of a dangerous weapon, and a hate crime.

Surveillance video from May shows a driver, who investigators say is Stevens, pulling up to the Zips Cannabis pot shop on Pacific Avenue in Tacoma.

Investigators say Stevens spoke to an employee for a few moments, then randomly opened fire.

Stevens is white, and the 27-year-old victim is Black.

Police say the victim was hit in the stomach, and now has to use tubes to eat and use the bathroom.

FOX 13 Seattle obtained body camera footage of when Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Stevens. In the video, Stevens asks why he is being arrested.

"It was uncalled for. There was nothing that was going on that caused the employee to do something to upset him," said Sgt. Darren Moss with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. "We’re very concerned, and the prosecutor believes it’s possibly motivated by race or skin color," he added.

Investigators say they are also concerned about Stevens’ search history on his phone.

According to probable cause documents, Stevens searched for all of these words or phrases:

"Spartan sniper," "human tracking device insertion," "rfid tracker under skin," "strip club," "List of all school shooters," "How many school shooters have been colored people," "Sniper range near me," "requirements to get foster care license," "How to delete my Snapchat," "Dog wire chain," "Sound proofing," "Duct tape," "Cute teen girls naked selfie," "rape statistic for last year," "fbi proved Obama fake birth certificate," "Obama is a known terrorist," and multiple searches regarding a missing teen girl.

During the arrest, Stevens had brass knuckles as well as a .40 caliber handgun. The rounds used in the shooting were the same found in Stevens' possession.

Investigators say Stevens is a former member of the Army, and that surveillance video shows he is familiar with how to use a gun.