Man Killed With His Own Gun by Carjacker

A Kent Washington man was killed by a carjacker on Monday with a gun the suspect found in the center console.

According to police reports, 38-year-old Jered Sperling was standing next to his running truck with the driver’s side door open, talking with a customer at around 8:00 p.m. Monday night at the storage facility he owned with his wife.

Then, 23-year-old Gurkeerat Singh Kainth, suddenly jumped inside the running truck and sped away.

Sperling was able to grab onto the side of the fleeing truck, and held on for dear life as it flew down the road.

Kainth later told officers he had tried to throw Sperling from the side of the truck by driving erratically, but Sperling hung on doggedly, eventually making his way to the bed of the truck.

In his desperation, Kainth discovered Sperling’s handgun in the center console of the truck. He pulled the weapon out and shot Sperling in the bed of the truck, killing him.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Sperling had called the police to report the incident, but it took officers until the following morning to locate the truck which Kainth had ditched in the parking lot of a Kent Apartment complex only two and a half miles away.

Sperling’s body was also discovered still in the bed of the truck.

Detectives questioned Troy Vasquez, who witnessed the attempted theft of the truck and told officers he’d seen Kainth in the area just 2 days earlier carrying a handgun.

Officers then tracked Kainth down to his residence where he was taken into custody. Kainth admitted to investigators to killing Sperling with the handgun he found in the console, and said he’d been under the influence of narcotics at the time.

A witness interviewed by police at Kainths residence told them the suspected murderer had told the witness about carjacking and killing Sperling.

Kainth already had a long rap sheet, being arrested 10 times as an adult for stealing cars in 2016, 2017, and 2018 with one arrest ending in a hit and run and another high-speed chase that resulted in the totaling of a police cruiser.

Probable cause has been found in the case against Kainth for: second degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in the second degree, and once again, theft of a motor vehicle. He is held on $1 million in bond.

Keeping a pistol in your vehicle is one of the worst ways to keep a weapon near you. Not only are cars one of the most common places criminals look to steal guns, but you might not be able to get to it when you need it most.

Do you know how to fight in and/or around a car? Brush up on your skills with the Vehicle Firearm Tactics Course.

What lessons do you think can be learned from this tragedy? Leave a comment below to let me know.