Convicted felon arrested at Walmart after grabbing gun

SPANAWAY, Washington. – A routine shoplifting call at a Spanaway Walmart escalated Tuesday evening when 26-year-old convicted felon Zachary Jon Quichocho allegedly attempted to reach for a firearm during a confrontation with Pierce County sheriff's deputies.

According to court documents, Quichocho, a four-time convicted felon, was approached by officers after Walmart security reported him for allegedly cutting tags from clothing. While officers attempted to escort him out, Quichocho suddenly made a movement toward his backpack, raising concerns that he was attempting to obtain a firearm.

“He grabs the backpack from his back, pushes it to his chest and tries to unzip it,” said Pierce County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Darren Moss explained. “He makes a very quick movement towards his bag again, and then the officers have had enough and arrest him and handcuff him.”

Body camera footage captured the tense moment as Quichocho struggled with officers, who quickly subdued him to prevent him from getting to the bag. “He didn’t want to put his hands behind his back. They had to take him to the ground. He may still be trying to get to his bag,” Sergeant said. Added moss.

When officers searched the bag, they discovered a large, two-handed pistol with a high-capacity magazine. “Basically it's a two-handed pistol, almost like a carbine, but it doesn't have a stock, so it's classified as a pistol,” Moss explained. Quichocho was also found to have a 31-round magazine, a troubling discovery given his criminal history and current probation status.

“There is no other reason for him to be maneuvering the bag to the front of his body, fumbling with the zipper, trying to open it to get to the firearm,” Moss said, emphasizing the dangerous situation in which the officials found. “He was thinking about how he was going to shoot our two deputies to get out of this situation.”

Court documents say Quichocho claimed the bag and the gun belonged to his sister, but security footage showed him entering the store with the bag. The firearm was found to be unregistered and Quichocho was booked into the Pierce County Jail.

Quichocho, who is on probation and has an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to contact his probation officer, has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for weapons possession, burglary and assault. He is charged with illegal possession of a firearm, hindering law enforcement and shoplifting. He is currently being held on $25,000 bail.

Sergeant. Moss also noted growing concerns about the proliferation of large magazines and illegal firearms in the region. Sergeant. Moss noted, “I see a lot more than I ever have in my entire career, including San Diego…we see high-capacity magazines on a lot of our shoots, and most of the time it's these.” People are not allowed to have firearms at all own.

Moss concluded: “Ultimately it will be the same result. He will be handcuffed and sent to prison. Something worse could have happened if he had pulled out the gun.”

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