Authorities identify burglary suspect shot in Lake Tapps

A burglary suspect fatally shot early Saturday by a Pierce County sheriff’s deputy near Lake Tapps was identified Sunday morning as Ion Ungureanu, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.

An autopsy will be performed on Ungureanu, 23, of Renton, on Monday, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said. The slain man’s family had been notified about his death, the spokeswoman said.

The deputy opened fire after Ungureanu tried to run him over with a car, said Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer. A second man inside Ungureanu’s car was wounded by gunfire, a third man managed to escape, Troyer said.

Troyer said police received a 911 call about 2:35 a.m. from a Lake Tapps resident in the 1400 block of Tacoma Point Road. The homeowner said she’d heard someone break into her garage and had locked herself into her bedroom.

Troyer said the neighborhood is one of expensive, lakefront homes and has seen a number of break-ins in the past month while residents were inside.

"These were pretty brazen. They were burglarizing houses with people at home," he said.

But the house the burglars targeted Saturday was not picked at random, he added. The men tried to break into a safe in the garage, Troyer said, and police are investigating the possibility that drugs or money was involved. A relative of the home's residents may have had a relationship with the burglars, he said.

Deputies arrived about five minutes after the homeowner's 911 call and parked half a block away. Troyer said that as deputies arrived, three men emerged from the house. One ran while the other two jumped into a car and tried to drive off, heading straight at a deputy.

The deputy fired several shots into the car, Troyer said. The vehicle crashed through a neighbor's fence, rolled down a ravine and struck a tree.

Ungureanu died at the scene. The passenger was taken to Tacoma General Hospital, where he underwent surgery for non-life-threatening injuries. The deputy who fired the shots was placed on administrative leave.

"It could've been a lot worse," Troyer said. "The homeowner wasn't injured. Our deputies weren't injured."

Canine units were called but they didn't find the third man. Troyer said he may have been picked up on a road nearby and driven away. Police from Auburn, Bonney Lake and Sumner joined the search.

Troyer said Saturday night that officers were investigating the possibility that a fourth man was involved. No additional details were available.

Seattle Times staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this report. Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com