Roy resident Keaton Scott Ross, 27, has been charged with second-degree murder after allegedly running over his 41-year-old neighbor three times following a dispute between the two on Wednesday, March 12.
Ross appeared in Pierce County Superior Court on Friday, March 14, where the state originally requested bail be set at $1 million. However, Court Commissioner Barbara McInaille set his bail at $250,000.
According to police reports, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the 300 block of 384th Street South in Roy for a dispute between neighbors that turned into a homicide. Upon arrival, deputies spoke with the reporting party, Ross, and learned he was involved in a verbal altercation that turned physical with his neighbor regarding surveillance cameras.
Ross told deputies that his neighbor, who was outside of the truck, displayed a pocket knife. He claimed his neighbor raised the knife as if he was going to assault Ross with it. According to reports, the neighbor knocked Ross’s phone out of his hands, which led to the fight escalating.
After returning to his truck, Ross initially ran over his neighbor once, but saw the 41-year-old, only identified as JC in court documents, stand back up with the knife still in hand. This led to Ross running over the man a second time, and eventually a third time, once JC returned to his feet again, according to police reports.
After deputies spoke with Ross, they went to check on the neighbor and found him deceased in the driveway. Ross was arrested for homicide and booked into the Pierce County Jail. He pleaded not guilty to all charges on Friday, March 14.
The investigation is still ongoing.
“This was an egregious attack on the victim. This defendant ran into him three separate times with his vehicle. Even after knowing he ran over him a second time, the defendant again hit the victim with his truck and pinned him against the fence,” Pierce County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dalton Smith said on Friday, March 14, at Ross’s first court appearance.
Ross’s attorney, Matthew McGowan, claims his client didn’t begin or instigate the altercation with his neighbor.
“There’s a colorable argument that he acted to defend himself based on the other person being armed and aggressive,” McGowan said.
