Rantz: Terrifying Pike Place Market road rage, hammer assault video released

Cell phone video from a terrifying Pike Place Market road rage incident shows the chaos that ensued on Easter Sunday last month.

The incident allegedly started when two drivers got into an argument while trying to turn onto Pike Street. Both drivers, one 32-years-old and the other 45-years-old, got out of their cars during the altercation that prosecutors say turned into a fight. It was during this incident when 54-year-old Timothy Davis Stephenson allegedly got involved.

Court documents say Stephenson pulled up to the incident in progress before following the 32-year-old driver into the market once the fight between the two drivers ended.

It’s unclear why Stephenson involved himself. But it allegedly involved a hammer, a victim on the hood of a car, and an injured market worker. Now, Stephenson finds himself charged with two counts of Assault in the Second Degree with a deadly weapon (car).

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The lead up to the chaos

Before a witness started recording on their cell phone, Seattle police say Stephenson drove up and parked behind the 32-year-old driver.

“After parking behind him, the defendant exited his vehicle armed [with] a hammer,” a Seattle detective wrote in an incident report. “The defendant approached [the 31-year-old’s] 4-Runner and struck his back windshield with the hammer, causing it to completely shatter.”

Police believe Stephenson left the hammer in the 4-Runner before returning to his car, a Mazda.

The 32-year-old then retrieved the hammer, then “walked toward the defendant’s vehicle and began striking his front windshield with the hammer.”

It’s at this point that a witness started filming.

Dangerous driving

The recording allegedly shows Stephenson wildly driving his car in reverse, away from the 32-year-old who was striking his windshield.

“Look out, look out, look out,” a witness says as a woman pulls two children away from the street.

Then, police say, Stephenson “drove straight toward” the 32-year-old, lifting him onto the Mazda’s hood. Police allege Stephenson’s intent was to assault the man with his car, which would likely “produce great bodily harm or death.”

With the 32-year-old on his hood, Stephenson swerved his vehicle to the left, police say, placing a female victim in his way. Police say Stephenson hit the woman, knowing her to the ground, before striking the 4-Runner.

After the 32-year-old rose to his feet, he approached Stephenson and “began violently striking the defendant with the hammer through his open driver’s side window.”

What comes next

The female victim was taken to the hospital with presumed fractures. The 32-year-old was taken to the hospital with back and shoulder pain. He was then booked for investigation of assault, but released from custody pending investigation.

Stephenson was arrested and booked.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office says Stephenson has a very long criminal history spanning four states. The misdemeanor and felony cases take up 22 lines in the charging documents. They include seven misdemeanor convictions in Washington (fighting, DUI, theft, and assault). He did his most damage in Colorado, racking up over 30 felony convictions between 2003 and 2004, according to the court documents, including stalking, forgery, and fraud.

Jail records show Stephenson was released to electronic home detention on a $10,000 bond as his trial is pending. In Colorado, he was convicted on seven separate counts of violating bail bond conditions.

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