Woman Shot After Valley Car Chase Five Rounds Fired At Her Vehicle; Deputies Arrest Estranged Husband

A 42-year-old woman was shot several times in the chest Sunday after her estranged husband chased her in his pickup truck and ran her car off the road, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department.

Kathy J. Johnson was hospitalized in stable condition Sunday afternoon after several hours of surgery.

“They think she’s going to make it,” sheriff’s Capt. Don Manning said.

Charles A. Johnson, 47, of 6213 E. Valleyview, was being held in the Spokane County Jail on one count of first-degree assault.

Kathy Johnson stopped by her husband’s home Sunday morning when he was holding a yard sale. The two started arguing, according to reports.

She jumped in her black Honda and drove away. He followed in his dark blue pickup.

The vehicles raced through residential streets for about a mile and a half, turning south on Glenrose.

About 10 a.m., Lisa and Rex Hartman heard brakes squealing in front of their South Glenrose home.

Lisa Hartman looked out the kitchen window as she was making coffee. Rex Hartman ran out the front door, fearing a wreck.

The pickup headed off the Honda, which came to a stop several feet from a tree, the Hartmans said.

“He was screaming at her,” Lisa Hartman said. “I could hear him.”

They watched in horror as the man, armed with a handgun, fired five shots into the car, shattering the driver’s window. Before leaving, the man twice rammed the Honda with his truck, the witnesses said.

Lisa Hartman called 911, giving the license plate number of the pickup. Then she threw a blanket on the victim and waited for an ambulance.

“We aren’t supposed to have this happen,” Rex Hartman said. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

Charles Johnson abandoned his pickup at 10th and Edgerton. From there, he walked to the UBU Tanning and Styling salon at 9827 E. Sprague.

“A guy came in and said, ‘Call 911,”’ said Seth Marshall, a UBU employee. “I was helping a customer at the time. I asked him why I had to call. He said, ‘Call 911 because I just shot my wife.”’

Johnson then smashed his hand through a glass counter.

The shop’s frightened customer ran into a tanning room and locked the door. Marshall quickly called 911.

Moments later, Johnson slumped to the ground and started crying. He was still there, by the front door, when deputies arrived.

Deputies searched Johnson’s truck and home Sunday but were unable to find the weapon.

, DataTimes