A man who stole a car at gunpoint from a Coulee Dam resident in 2020 was sentenced to 107 months in prison by a federal judge last week.
Kyle Steven Scott Cate, 30, a member of the Colville Tribes had pleaded guilty earlier this year to two federal indictments.
According to court documents, on April 30, 2020, at 2:30 a.m., Cate began banging on the door of a residence located in Coulee Dam, Washington, on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Cate’s victim, who also is an enrolled member of the Colville Tribes, came to the door, and Cate asked him for a ride to Nespelem.
When the victim declined to give Cate a ride, Cate brandished a snub-nosed pistol at him before stealing his 1998 Black Subaru Legacy at gunpoint. Before leaving, Cate demanded the victim’s keys, pointed a pistol at his face, and said he would shoot him, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
Within minutes of his victim’s 911 call, Colville Tribal Police saw the Subaru driving toward Nespelem. Police matched the license plate to the victim’s stolen car and began pursuing Cate. Cate led officers on a chase that lasted approximately 23 miles, during which he reached speeds of approximately 100 miles per hour.
Eventually, the car’s engine failed.
During Cate’s arrest, Tribal Police recovered seven .22 caliber bullets from Cate’s pocket. A firearm that met the description given by Cate’s victim was recovered along Cate’s flightpath, consistent with Cate having thrown it from the moving vehicle during the high-speed chase. Cate’s fingerprint was later recovered on the firearm.
Separately, and prior to the carjacking, Cate was found in possession of four stolen firearms in August 2018. Those firearms, which had been stolen during a residential burglary, were recovered from Cate’s home. Cate admitted that he possessed the guns and that he knew they were stolen. At the time he possessed the stolen firearms, Cate had a prior felony conviction for Second Degree Robbery in Okanogan County Superior Court.
Senior United States District Judge Rosanna M. Peterson passed his sentence Thursday, Dec. 2.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), Colville Tribal Police, and Washington State Patrol investigated these cases, which were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Barker.
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