PUYALLUP, Wash. – A man was arrested for allegedly shooting a car at a Puyallup McDonald’s over a lane merge disagreement in the drive-thru, newly released court documents state.
On Aug. 27, at 11:33 p.m., Puyallup police responded to a shooting at the McDonald’s in Meridian Place, located at 4603 S. Meridian.
Officers contacted two men next to a Subaru Outback, who were later identified as the victims in the shooting.
According to court documents, the driver stated he was in the right lane of the McDonald’s drive-thru, and when he began to pull forward to the first window, he was cut off by a Black Chevy Equinox.
The Puyallup McDonald’s has a two-lane drive-thru, meaning cars are required to merge after ordering.
Video surveillance from the McDonald’s showed the suspect and victim’s vehicles move forward at the same time, “as if each driver is trying to be in front of the other.”
Then, a man gets out of the Chevy and appears to exchange words with the occupants of the Subaru. He was later identified as 40-year-old Lehi Oliver Peni.
According to the victims, Peni had a firearm in his right hand and was pointing at the ground during the confrontation.
Court documents state Peni yelled at the Subaru driver to “back the f–k up,” and a loud bang was heard shortly after.
The victim said he believed the shot was fired at the ground, but officers located a bullet hole right below the Subaru’s door handle. A bullet fragment was recovered from the lower door skin of the driver’s door.
One of the responding officers located Peni’s vehicle and initiated a traffic stop near 21st Avenue SE and South Meridian. Police say he was detained without incident.
According to police, Peni stated the Subaru cut him off, and that he shot in the air to intimidate them, since there were two occupants in the Subaru, and he was the only one in his car.
Officers found a loaded firearm in Peni’s car, which had two rounds missing. It’s unknown if two rounds had been fired or if it had not been fully loaded.
Court documents say the McDonald’s surveillance footage did not appear to capture the shooting, but did show the initial altercation.
Peni was charged with two counts of first-degree assault in connection to the shooting. He appeared in court on Thursday and had his bail set at $100,000.
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