Shooter at Poulsbo crash: ‘It was not something that I wanted to do at all’ – Kitsap Sun

A suspected drunken driver shot and killed last month after causing a crash on Viking Way then trying to force his way into a nearby house had been warned minutes before in a separate confrontation that his aggressive behavior was going to get him shot.

Witnesses said Eric William Rose, 28, climbed out of the window of his totaled 2008 Jeep Patriot on Aug.2 and ran away from the multi-vehicle crash he had just caused near the 18100 block of the roadway. He apparently wanted to hide in ahouse, wherea woman and a nearly 2-year-old girl were hiding from him, according to statements gathered by Kitsap County Sheriffs Office detectives.

While in the yard, Rose charged toward the womans husband, Joshua Ray Johnson, 27, after Johnson repeatedly warned Rose, according to Johnson and another witness at the scene.

Eric Rose(Photo: contributed)

Johnson shot Rose three times with a .45-caliber pistol from a distance of 3 or 4feet, according to Johnson.

I pretty much on repeat just kept saying, I dont want to shoot you, over and over and over and over, Johnson told detectives in a voluntary recorded statement. I dont know how many times I said it. I felt like I said it about a million times just over and over to him.

Johnson added: It was not something that I wanted to do at all.

In a statement issued Thursday through his attorney, Johnson said he could not express his sadness from the shooting and could not imagine the pain felt by Roses loved ones.

Details of the crash and shooting and the 45 minutes or so that led up to the final confrontation were pieced together from the investigation by the sheriff's office obtained by the Kitsap Sun through the state Public Records Act.

Roses parents believe their son had relapsed after about three months of sobriety. Following the high-speed crash no serious injuries were reported they believe he panicked knowing he would be sent to jail, something he feared.

They told the Kitsap Sun they had never seen Rose highly intoxicated or act aggressively.

Rose was part Native American and his parents needed special permission to adopt him as a newborn. They described him as a loving son and brother, a talented musician and chef who had struggled with alcoholism and feelings of alienation. Plus, he had trouble finding work after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered restaurants.

During the confrontation, Johnson described Roses behavior as bizarre and frightening, with him laughing at one moment, cursing at Johnson the next and then growing increasingly aggressive once he learned Johnson had a pistol.

A witness, who happened upon the shooting scene after the wreck and did not know Johnson, said he heard Johnson say I dont want to shoot you three times before Rose charged him.

The witness said Rose wasnt running at Johnson, But he was coming at him fast, flailing his arms, in a threatening manner with his chest puffed up, according to reports.

No arrests have been made. Kitsap County Prosecutor Chad Enright is reviewing the case for possible charges.

"It may take me several weeks to review the case in its entirety," Enright said.

Rose had been living with his parents since being arrested in April near Issaquah for drunken driving when he drove into a ditch. Court documents say he had a blood-alcohol content of .23, nearly three times the legal limit, and a deputy called to the scene described Roses demeanor as extremely belligerent.

Following the arrest, Rose entered treatment and was fitted with an alcohol-monitoring bracelet to ensure he did not drink. A King County District Court judge agreed to remove the bracelet on July 29, four days before his death on Aug.2.

On Aug.1, Roses parents left him alone at their house to attend a family camping trip to the Olympic Peninsula. The family had been staying together during the COVID-19 quarantine and said Rose had shown improvement with his treatment and was in good spirits when they left.

An estimated 30 to 45 minutes before the shooting, a witness driving by reported seeing Roses Jeep speed out of a driveway near the 16300 block of Scandia Way his parents house seemingly without looking for other cars. Rose lived about a mile-and-a-half from the Johnsons.

The Jeep then drove away so recklessly the witness wondered if the driver had just burglarized the house.

Rose ended up at the Red Apple grocery store on Viking Way in Poulsbo, and while trying to buy a bottle of liquor, got into an argument with clerks when they refused to sell to him, generating a 911 call.

While at the store, a man there said Rose put his hands on the shoulders of a woman in line she was standing with a child and whispered something in her ear. The man said it appeared this frightened the woman so he told Rose to keep his hands to himself.

The two men then got into a heated argument in the parking lot, which the man said Rose initiated.

The man said Rose kept coming at him like he had no fear whatsoever. The man described himself as 6 feet tall, 225 pounds and has never had anyone come up on him like that.

As Rose approached, the man told Rose to stay back four to five times before the two bumped bellies, according to documents.

He told (Rose) he was going to get shot, noting he was carrying a concealed pistol, a detective wrote. Rose just stood there and the man went back inside the Red Apple he said an employee asked him to stick around until Rose was gone.

Based on 911 call logs, about 24 minutes after the confrontation in the Red Apple parking lot where he was warned he was going to get shot because of his aggressive behavior Rose was shot dead by Johnson.

Eric Rose(Photo: contributed)

Before driving south on Viking Way toward his parents house, Roses Jeep was seen by an off-duty Bainbridge police officer speeding into a nearby cul-de-sac where the officer lived and doing donuts. The driver appeared to be trying to grab a flag from a child at play figure on the street, meant to warn drivers that children could be in the roadway.

The officer memorized the license plate and went to his patrol car to find out the owners name. While running the plate number through the computer system he heard the rest of the event play out over the radio, ending with a shots fired call.

The officer, Corporal Bill Shields, wrote that he then ran into his house to get his duty belt and vest and hurried to the scene, hoping to render aid, but arrived after deputies.

After leaving the cul-de-sac and speeding back onto Viking Way, Rose then drove to the nearby McDonalds where he was seen hitting a fence and driving over a sidewalk before speeding away, generating another 911 call.

Moments later, while driving south at extreme speeds on Viking Way, Rose struck one vehicle from behind, swerved into the oncoming lane and struck another vehicle almost head-on, according to a statement from the sheriffs office.

A preliminary analysis of computer data recovered from Roses Jeep showed he was traveling at 103 mph five seconds before the airbags deployed. He was traveling at 65 mph when the airbags deployed. The speed limit on the road is 40 mph.

A witness who called 911 was astonished at the speed the Jeep was traveling. Incredible speed, he told a dispatcher.

After the wreck reported at 4:33 p.m. witnesses said Rose climbed out of the window of the Jeep and ran away.

Inside the Jeep which had a Dont tread on me sticker on the back investigators would find empty alcohol containers, a crossbow and ammunition to two different types of handguns, but no guns were found. No witnesses reported seeing Rose with a firearm.

Johnson, a former Marine sergeant, told detectives he always carries a gun and just before the shooting had been intending to take a trip to the hardware store. Johnson kept the gun concealed in a holster in his waistband.

After realizing there had been a crash on the road in front of his house he said he went outside to help while his wife called 911 to report the crash. He then encountered Rose in his yard and asked if he was OK.

It appeared Rose was trying to hide behind a tree he told Johnson to be quiet and said Shhhhh.

Johnson heard people from the crash yelling that Rose was involved and to not let him get away. Rose then asked Johnson to let him inside his house, even offering to pay him up to $1,000.

He was uncomfortable cause he knew people were telling me not to let him get away, Johnson said, according to a transcript of the interview. He started asking me if he could get inside my house and ... I said no, you cant.

Johnson said Rose ran past him through the yard but he didnt chase after him.

I didnt want to pursue him, it wasnt like I was trying to be a hero, said Johnson, who said he hoped Rose would continue running, but instead Rose started trying to get inside his house.

At this point, Johnson said he went back inside and told his wife to lock the doors. He then went back outside. He said he never pursued Rose, but as Rosetried to enter his house and then his garage, Johnson told him to stop, to calm down and that Johnsons wife and child were inside.

Rose moved through the yard and threw a pallet and then, finding a long wooden stick used to measure heating oil, threw it at Johnson like a spear but missed.

It appeared to Johnson that Rose was becoming increasingly agitated, and again, Rose turned his attention back toward breaking into the house.

I feel like enough is enough, I might as well escalate to the next level here cause I dont know what hes gonna do, Johnson said. He removed his pistol to chamber a round preparing it to fire but reholstered it.

Johnson said Rose did not see him prepare the gun to fire. Further, Johnson said he had not indicated to Rose that he was armed.

However, as Rose seemed to become more agitated and focused on Johnson, and then the house, Johnson said he put his hand on the pistol and told Rose to stop and stay where he was.

It appeared to Johnson that once Rose realized he had a gunRose became more agitated.

When he noticed that I had something on me, he immediately got aggressive, Johnson told detectives. Rose began cursing at him and telling me I wouldnt shoot him and then he started walking towards me.

Johnson said he assumed Rose was scared that he may have killed somebody in the wreck.

He was scared and that scared transformed into anger and then he got he was just frustrated and angry and aggressive, Johnson told detectives.

Johnson said Rose who was physically larger than Johnson frightened him. Rose was 5-feet-11-inches tall and 160 pounds, according to court documents; Johnson was described by his wife as 5-feet-9-inches tall.

I was really scared, Johnson said, fearful that Rose would overpower him and enter his house. I didnt know what the next step was there and what he would do if he got in ... with my daughter and my wife so I wasnt gonna let him do it.

Johnson said despite repeated warnings Rose kept advancing. Johnson pulled out the pistol and shot Rose three times. He told detectives he did not draw the gun until he fired.

I never drew it until it was I actually was firing, Johnson said.

He then unloaded the gun and kneeled on the lawn to wait for police.

Another bystander with medic training tried to administer first aid. Rose was declared dead at the scene.

Investigators established a timeline of the crash and shooting from a neighboring business's security camera, which showed Rose was in Johnsons yard for about five minutes before Johnson shot him.

One-and-a-half minutes after the shooting, a sheriff's deputy sergeant arrived.

Johnson released to the Kitsap Sun the following statement through his attorney, Tim Kelly:

There are no words to express my sadness following the events of August 2, 2020. Loss of life, however it occurs, is always tragic. While my life has changed forever, I cannot imagine the pain felt by Mr. Roses family and friends. This is a heartbreaking situation for everyone involved.

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Shooter at Poulsbo crash: 'It was not something that I wanted to do at all' - Kitsap Sun