A Tacoma man was charged with first-degree murder after shooting and killing a man at a gas station in front of a King County deputy, then fleeing after a chase ensued.

Tau’rean Curtis Sonnell Forks, 18, whose last known address was in Tacoma, was charged with murder in the first degree, possession of a stolen vehicle, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, and unlawful possession of a firearm on Nov. 7 after being arrested on Nov 4 in Fife. Forks allegedly committed these crimes in 2023, according to charging documents.

The charging documents allege thatat about 2:42 a.m. July 15, 2023, at the Arco gas station at 3910 S. 320th St., the man who died, Donald Harris, was sitting outside the gas station when a vehicle pulled up beside him, and a man with curly auburn hair extended his arm and shot Harris twice. The deputy at the scene said he saw the muzzle flash from the gun, and then Harris slumped down to the ground after the shots. Forks is being charged as the man who allegedly committed this act.

According to the charging documents, when Forks was arrested and police questioned him, he initially denied ever being there. Then he said that he was in the passenger seat, and the person in the driver’s seat was not him but a different person. The charging document said Forks told police that Harris called the man in the driver seat a swear word, and things escalated.

Eventually, Forks said what he had told police was true, except he was actually the driver, and after the passenger, who he said before was the driver, handed him a gun, he felt intimidated by the passenger, so then he shot Harris two or three times. Forks said he then saw the police behind him turn on their emergency lights, but he was scared, so he fled.

Forks was then offered to write or say something directly to the victim’s family, and he stated, “I’m sorry for the foolish acts with the wrong people.” Forks was then transported to the King County Correctional Facility where he remains on a $3 million warrant.