Louis Montel De’Andre Dowers, 32, of Seattle, appeared in U.S. District Court this week following his federal indictment on charges of carjacking and using a firearm during a crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.
Dowers is accused of stealing a luxury BMW at gunpoint in June 2024, a vehicle later found abandoned near a middle school in Auburn.
The incident began on June 9, 2024, outside the Seattle Team Shop on Occidental Avenue South in the Pioneer Square neighborhood. According to court filings, Dowers approached the victim, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of the BMW, brandished a distinctive firearm, and ordered the driver to exit the vehicle. The victim’s wife, coming out of the store during the carjacking, narrowly avoided being struck as the vehicle sped away.
Hours later, the BMW was discovered abandoned in Auburn, near a middle school. Acting on a description of the suspect, King County Sheriff’s deputies located Dowers walking in the vicinity of the abandoned car. A subsequent search revealed a semi-automatic firearm in his possession, which authorities believe was used in the carjacking.
“The Carjacking Task Force, made up of federal agents, Seattle and Kent police officers, and state and federal prosecutors, are diligently reviewing carjacking incidents for those appropriate for federal prosecution,” U.S. Attorney Gorman said. “Here, where a firearm was pointed at the driver, and the car commandeered and stolen, the federal penalties are significant and appropriate for the conduct that put lives at risk.”
Dowers was arrested June 9 and transferred from King County Jail to federal custody. The charges of carjacking and using a firearm during a violent crime carry severe penalties. Carjacking alone is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, while using a firearm in such an offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years.
The Seattle Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) are spearheading the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg, head of the Western District of Washington’s Carjacking Task Force.
As with all criminal cases, the charges against Dowers are allegations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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