BURIEN, Wash. — A 29-year-old man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in Des Moines was arrested in Burien after authorities tracked him to a residential area and pursued him on foot, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Derrick Laquan Stell Jr. was arrested Oct. 13 in the 11000 block of Des Moines Memorial Drive. The U.S. Marshals Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force had been searching for Stell, who faced a Washington State Department of Corrections escape warrant and a first-degree murder warrant issued by the Des Moines Police Department.
Investigators wanted Stell in connection with the Sept. 20 fatal shooting of Abraham Logan.
Suspect Tried to Flee Arrest
Members of the task force located Stell in Burien and moved to take him into custody. He attempted to flee on foot, but task force members pursued and apprehended him without further incident, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Authorities reported that Stell possessed a firearm and drugs when they arrested him. He also faces a charge of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from the arrest.
According to the Marshals Service, Stell told officers he had wanted to kill a law enforcement officer and provoke officers into killing him during the arrest.
Multiple Agencies Assisted in Arrest
The U.S. Marshals Service led the operation with assistance from the Washington State Department of Corrections, FBI and Des Moines Police Department.
Stell’s escape warrant stemmed from original charges of drive-by shooting and first-degree robbery, according to the Marshals Service.
Acting U.S. Marshal Donrien Stephens for the Western District of Washington said the task force and its partner agencies remain committed to apprehending violent fugitives.
“We hope this arrest brings some measure of justice and peace to Mr. Logan’s family.”
— Donrien Stephens, Acting U.S. Marshal, Western District of Washington
The Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force brings together federal, state and local law enforcement officers from Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Its primary mission is to locate and apprehend fugitives wanted on serious federal and state charges and return them to the justice system.
Anyone with information about wanted fugitives can contact the nearest U.S. Marshals Service office, call 1-877-WANTED2 or email usmstips@usdoj.gov.
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