Seattle man sentenced to six years for Pioneer Square armed carjacking

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Teal Luthy Miller Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington | Department of Justice

Seattle man sentenced to six years for Pioneer Square armed carjacking

A Seattle man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for carjacking and using a firearm during a crime of violence. Louis Montel De’Andre Dowers, 32, was arrested on June 9, 2024, after carjacking a BMW outside the Seattle Team Shop on Occidental Avenue South in Pioneer Square. The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

At the hearing, U.S. District Judge John H. Chun described the carjacking as “terrifying crimes.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller commented on the case, stating: “Using a ‘ghost gun’ to threaten the driver and almost running down a second victim, is why carjacking has received substantial federal attention,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “In 2024, the Department of Justice created eleven Carjacking Task Forces in districts around the United States, including here in the Western District of Washington. This increased focus on federal prosecutions of armed carjacking offenses has coincided with a substantial reduction in these types of crimes.”

According to court documents, Dowers approached a man waiting for his wife in his parked vehicle and pointed a distinctive firearm at him while demanding he leave the car. The victim managed to retrieve his dog before Dowers drove away with the vehicle. As Dowers fled, the victim’s wife exited a store and was nearly struck by the speeding car.

Law enforcement tracked the stolen vehicle to Auburn, Washington, near a middle school. A King County Sheriff’s deputy identified Dowers nearby based on witness descriptions. During a search, officers found that Dowers had a fully loaded semi-automatic firearm that had been privately manufactured—a so-called “ghost gun”—with a round chambered.

Dowers pleaded guilty in April 2025. Judge Chun scheduled an additional hearing for October 27, 2025 to determine restitution owed to victims.

The victims stated they continue to experience trauma from the incident: they “still live” with this “moment of terror . . . every single day.” They added that Dowers’ actions have “robbed [them] of peace.”

The investigation was conducted by members of a federal carjacking task force that includes personnel from local police departments as well as federal agencies such as ATF and FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg is prosecuting the case and leads the Western District of Washington Carjacking Task Force.