Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
PULLMAN — A Colfax family finished Christmas shopping and was heading home when a passenger in a stopped car tried to shoot them.
Two suspects were arrested and no one was injured, according to Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers.
A Colfax man and his family finished Christmas shopping in Pullman and headed home on Dec. 22. The three adults and two children were heading north on Davis Way in Pullman when a white Volkswagen Golf sped to catch up and began following their van closely, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Golf crossed a double-yellow line and passed the van, got in front of it and the driver slammed on the brakes and stopped. As the van driver tried to go around, the Golf driver turned the car toward the van, almost hitting hit the van. The van stopped and the Golf drove away, speeding up and slowing down as they drove toward State Route 195, according to the investigation report.
The van driver later found the Golf stopped in the middle of the northbound lane. The driver of the Golf reversed the car toward the oncoming van with a passenger sitting in the open window.
“(He) said he saw the passenger shoot four times at his vehicle,” wrote the investigating deputy.
The van driver turned the vehicle around and fled south, telling his family to “duck down.”
The shooter missed the van but scared the passengers.
The van driver made two calls to 9-1-1. The first call was to report the aggressive driving, and the second was to report being shot at while on SR 195. He provided the license plate number and description of the car during the first call and described the shooter and the gun during the second call.
Pullman police determined the owner of the Golf, went to her home to find her car was not there. She is connected to the suspected shooter through a “dating relationship” as determined during a domestic violence call on Dec. 4, according to court records.
The Golf was found by the Washington State University police driving on Pullman Airport Road, at nearly midnight, heading toward Moscow, Idaho. The car was stopped and a female driver and male passenger were arrested.
A Glock 9 mm pistol was reportedly found in the passenger door compartment. The passenger allegedly had two magazines for the Glock and one had only 9 rounds remaining in it, according to a deputy’s report.
Janine E. Ludwig, 24, of Pullman, was booked into jail for drive by shooting and reckless driving, for reportedly being the driver.
Jamil M. Fields, 26, of Pullman, was booked for assault in the second degree and drive-by shooting, for allegedly being the passenger who shot at the van.
“While I transported Fields to the jail, he made unsolicited statements to me indicating he had mental health problems,” wrote a deputy. “Fields told me he was supposed to be taking medications for his problems but had not been taking them.”
After allegedly talking about internet viruses and his need to search his cellphone for them, Fields asked to speak to his attorney.
A search warrant was used to recover the pistol and an unloaded shotgun from the Golf. Shotgun shells were in a holder on the stock and loose shells were found in the car. Several cellphones were also found and they were all on.
Both wait for formal charges to be filed in Whitman County Superior Court.
Bill Stevenson is the former editor of the Whitman County Gazette, Colfax Daily Bulletin and Franklin Connection. He has nearly 30 years of journalism experience covering news in Eastern Washington.
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