Seattle man indicted for armed carjacking near Lumen Field Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington Byline: Emily Langlie Dateline: Seattle, Washington Date: 17 September 2024 Subjects: American Government , Crime

Seattle – A 32-year-old Seattle resident will appear today in U.S. District Court in Seattle indicted for carjacking and using a firearm during a crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Louis Montel De’Andre Dowers was transferred from the King County Jail this morning. Dowers was arrested June 9, 2024, hours after he allegedly carjacked a BMW outside the Seattle Team Shop on Occidental Avenue South in the Pioneer Square neighborhood.

“The Carjacking Task Force, made up of federal agents, Seattle and Kent police officers, and state and federal prosecutors, are diligently reviewing carjacking incidents for those appropriate for federal prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Gorman. “Here, where a firearm was pointed at the driver, and the car commandeered and stolen, the federal penalties are significant and appropriate for the conduct that put lives at risk.”

According to information filed in state and federal court, a man was waiting in the driver’s seat of his car outside a business on Occidental Avenue South. Dowers allegedly approached the car, pulled out a distinctive firearm and pointed it at the victim, and ordered him out of the car. The wife of the man who was carjacked came out of the store and was nearly hit by the car as it raced away.

The car was later found abandoned near a middle school in Auburn, Washington. Working with a description of the alleged carjacker, a King County Sheriff’s deputy located Dowers walking nearby. When searched, Dowers possessed a semi-automatic firearm.

Carjacking is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Using a firearm during a crime of violence, such as carjacking, is punishable by a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg who leads the Western District of Washington Carjacking Task Force.

Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Communications Director Emily Langlie at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov.

Updated September 17, 2024