Man shot catalytic converter thief, dragged body behind car and left him in field: police

LAKEWOOD, Wash. (TCD) --

A man was arrested last week after allegedly fatally shooting a man who reportedly tried stealing a catalytic converter from his car and then dragging the thief's body behind his car.

According to a probable cause statement published by KING-TV, on June 12 at around 3:45 a.m., a witness reportedly saw a "suspicious" Ford F-150 truck "dragging an unknown object" in a parking lot at the intersection of Sharondale Street SW and Halcyon Road CW.

The witness called police and said the man driving the F-150 got into a different red pickup truck and drove away.

The driver was later identified as Michael Scott Campbell, who, according to the court document, also goes by the name "Adam Jesus Christ." The unknown object dragged in the parking lot was reportedly the victim, identified as Brent Peltomaa, KING reports.

A Lakewood Police officer arrived on scene and found the victim in a nearby field. 

According to the probable cause document, Peltomaa had "several obvious signs of trauma to his body, some of which were consistent with having been dragged."

Officer Keisler also reportedly found two "puncture wounds" in the victim's left torso, which were later identified as gunshot wounds.

The witness, only identified as "J.P." in the probable cause document, told officers he was asleep in the berth of his truck when he heard a noise. He saw two men, who were allegedly Campbell and Peltomaa. J.P. told police he saw Campbell get into his F-150 and "begin dragging an object through the field behind his truck." Campbell, according to the witness, reportedly got out of his truck, entered the other truck, and drove off.

Campbell then allegedly returned on foot a few minutes later and drove off in his own car. The witness told officers he saw Campbell "picking up items around the location where blood was located."

When interviewed by police, Campbell reportedly said he was woken up by someone "attempting to saw the catalytic converter from under his F-150." When he opened the door, he allegedly "saw legs sticking out from underneath his truck."

Campbell allegedly admitted to firing shots at the victim. According to the document, Campbell said he "lashed the victim's hands above his head and tied him to the ball hitch on his F-150, then dragged him through the field."

Campbell reportedly claims Peltomaa was "still alive and talking" as he was being dragged towards the field.

When detective investigated Campbell's car, they reportedly found "a large amount of blood" on the driver's side running board and driver's seat and seatbelt.

Jail records show Campbell was booked on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping.

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