In the late hours of September 14, 2024, a house party on the outskirts of Sumner, Washington, turned into a scene of violence that claimed the life of 30-year-old Hispanic/Latino male, Javaun Cordova. The gathering, hosted by a teenager while her parents were out of town, was disrupted by a fight that escalated tragically. Just before 2 a.m., the sound of gunfire pierced the night, prompting calls to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
When deputies, along with officers from the
Bonney Lake and Puyallup police departments, arrived at the residence in the 7400 block of Riverside Drive East, they found a chaotic scene. Cordova was discovered in the driveway with multiple gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of first responders, his injuries proved fatal, and his death was later ruled a homicide by the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office. The violence of that night also left two 16-year-old boys with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds; they were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
As investigators began to piece together the events, their attention was drawn to a Honda attempting to flee the area. In a tense confrontation, the vehicle rammed a Bonney Lake police cruiser before officers managed to stop it by pushing it into a parked car. Inside the Honda, authorities found two other 16-year-old boys who had not been shot. A handgun was discovered on the floor of the vehicle.
The two teenagers from the Honda were taken into custody and booked into the Remann Hall juvenile detention center. Both face suspicion of unlawfully possessing a firearm. The teen who was driving the car faces an additional charge of second-degree assault for allegedly ramming the police vehicle. The investigation into the full circumstances of the shooting that ended Javaun Cordova's life is ongoing.
