In what Pierce County prosecutors described as a case of "vigilante justice run amok," 24-year-old Robert Ward, a male resident of Frederickson, Washington, was killed on February 16, 2014. The fatal incident was the culmination of a plan to retaliate against Ward for an alleged car theft.
Three men, Nathan Stevenson, age 25, Presley Lind, age 28, and Christopher Olsen, age 32, conspired to lure Ward to a phony drug deal with the intention of confronting him and recovering the stolen
vehicle. On the evening of February 16, Ward arrived at the arranged meeting point in a parking lot at Canyon Road and 176th Street. When the group confronted him, Ward attempted to flee in the car.
As Ward tried to drive away, Christopher Olsen fired multiple shots from a pickup truck, chasing after him. One of the bullets struck Ward in the head, causing him to crash the vehicle. He was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries the following day.
Investigators quickly identified the three men involved. Nathan Stevenson was the first to be arrested and was charged with murder for his role in orchestrating the fake drug deal. Presley Lind and Christopher Olsen were also subsequently charged with first-degree murder. Olsen, identified as the shooter, was apprehended in Post Falls, Idaho, after fleeing the state. Pierce County Sheriff's detectives were able to track him down using cell phone records. In October 2015, Christopher Olsen was convicted of first-degree murder and later sentenced to 50 years in prison.
