Police: Fugitive wanted for attempting to kill mother of his child is arrested in Tacoma



TACOMA, Wash. – Tony French, 39, a man who police say shot his ex-girlfriend multiple times before going on the run, was taken into custody in Tacoma Tuesday night, Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said.

French has been a fugitive for close to three weeks after police say he shot the mother of his child.

Troyer said French's arrest came Tuesday night following a traffic stop that turned into a pursuit on Hosmer in Tacoma. After the suspect fled, a K-9 track located French.

Investigators say French was in a stolen vehicle and also located a firearm when he was apprehended Tuesday evening.

French appeared in a Pierce County courtroom Wednesday afternoon where he pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges including attempted murder, assault, burglary, car theft and more.

Prosecutors asked for high bail citing French's extensive criminal history in North Carolina and his alleged role in shooting Martinez.

The judge reserved setting bail, French remains behind bars in the Pierce County jail.

French's ex-girlfriend, Susan Martinez, told Q13 News in an interview earlier this month that bullets riddled her body but the emotional scars will likely never heal.

“I did everything I could to protect me and my family,” she said.



Martinez says that despite a ‘no contact order’ and multiple court hearings, French showed up to her Frederickson home earlier in September with a gun and opened fire.

“He tried to kill me,” she said. “It’s the most mind-boggling thing and I’m still trying to process it.”

Prosecutors have already charged French with attempted first-degree murder and multiple other domestic violence-related crimes. Martinez says she hasn’t returned to her Frederickson home since the shooting – and that he and her three young children are living in hiding, hoping French won’t find them.

“I’m not safe if he’s not in jail,” she said.

Investigators say French used a stolen car during the shooting, then injured his ex-girlfriend.