Man wielding samurai sword accused of chasing 3 people in Puyallup

PUYALLUP, Wash. — He was holding a samurai sword and two beers when police spotted him outside a Puyallup grocery store.

It had been a few minutes since 911 dispatchers received a call about a man chasing three people around a truck with a sword.

Officers took the uncooperative 27-year-old into custody.

He was “speaking back and forth with himself while speaking in the first person, then answering his questions in two different voices,” according to court records.

Police said they found a methamphetamine pipe on him, which might explain his bizarre behavior.

The encounter took place Monday in the 17400 block of Meridian Avenue East.

The victims said they were ordering food at a fast food restaurant when the man approached and asked for money or a cigarette. They gave him neither, got in their truck and drove to a nearby grocery store.

The man followed.

As the victims were unloading construction equipment from the truck, the man allegedly pulled a samurai sword out of its sheath and began chasing them.

Everyone was able to hide inside the truck and call 911. No one was injured.

On Wednesday, Pierce County prosecutors charged the man with attempted first-degree robbery and three counts of second-degree assault.

Cox Media Group