While assisting Valley SWAT in apprehending a suspect from a Renton shooting that occurred the day prior, Renton Police Department Officers were involved in a shooting May 9 that injured three people who are not officers.
According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Diego A. Corona, 18, whose last known address was in Renton, was charged with first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm for a May 8 shooting and another April 12 incident. According to charging documents, the charges stem from an incident in which Corona allegedly shot a man on May 8 in the 600 block of Queen Avenue Northeast with a firearm he was not legally allowed to possess.
Documents state that the second count of unlawful possession of a firearm stems from an incident on April 13, in which someone in another vehicle fatally shot Corona’s brother while they were riding in a car together. According to documents, the vehicle they were in during the shooting was impounded for evidence.
Documents state that after searching the vehicle, officers found a firearm. According to documents, upon further investigation, they found video footage from the parking lot, where they stopped to wait for officers after the homicide, which captured Corona placing a firearm in the trunk.
According to the Independent Force Investigate Team King County, which is investigating this officer-involved shooting, the incident occurred at 5:19 p.m. May 9 in the 16800 block of 116th Avenue Southeast, Renton. According to the investigation team, Valley SWAT and RPD officers were attempting to arrest a suspect — identified as Corona in charging documents — who was in a vehicle, when another subject in the vehicle shot at officers.
According to the investigation team, Valley SWAT returned fire, leaving three injured, two of whom were admitted to local hospitals. No officers were injured, according to the investigation team.
Details of the incidents
According to documents, at 9:19 p.m. May 8, officers received a 911 phone call from an individual stating that he had been shot in the 600 block of Queen Avenue North. The caller was an 18-year-old male.
The injured man told officers that his leg and chest hurt, prompting officers to cut his clothes and discover that he had been shot in the upper right thigh and the center of his abdomen. Officers located 9mm shell casings near the injured man, documents state.
According to documents, the injured man told officers that he had arrived at the location with his cousin when three to four subjects approached him. According to documents, the injured man then told officers that the subjects began beating him up before someone in the group produced a black handgun and shot him twice.
Another witness told officers that one of the men in the group was Corona, who went by the nickname “Suerte.” Documents state that the witness saw Corona armed with a black handgun with an extended magazine.
The witness said he saw Corona holding a black firearm while he struck the injured man in the face; that the witness said he then saw Corona intentionally point and discharge the black handgun twice; and that after being shot, the injured man dropped to the ground, according to documents.
The witness stated that he knew Corona was associated with the local gang, “Barrios King Locos,” otherwise known as BKL. The witness said that the injured man had previously been associated with BKL. The witness said that Corona mentioned something to the effect of, “You cannot simply leave BKL unless you go to jail or die,” documents state.
The next day, officers contacted Corona’s mother and asked when Corona would be home so they could speak with him about his brother’s homicide. Documents state that Corona met with officers at his home, and he briefly spoke with officers, but agreed to meet with them the following week.
According to documents, Corona was then picked up from his home by a Cadillac, prompting officers to follow the vehicle so they could arrest him.
“As SWAT moved in to arrest Diego, individuals from within the Cadillac fired at police officers, who subsequently returned fire, striking at least one individual,” documents state. “Diego was then taken into custody by officers at the scene.”
According to the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention’s jail lookup portal, Corona currently does not face any additional charges from the officer-involved shooting. KCPAO spokesperson Casey McNerthney said that they do not have a case referral for Corona being involved in the SWAT shootout at this moment.
