Former Moses Lake doctor arrested after shootout with U.S. Marshals in Florida
Steffens
STUART, Flor. — Former Moses Lake physician Thomas Earl Steffens, 72, has been arrested in Florida after an altercation with U.S. Marshals who were serving a sexual assault warrant during a traffic stop Monday.
According to a statement from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Steffens was being sought due to allegations that he had drugged a woman in Colorado and sexually assaulted her on Jan. 28. Two Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies alogn with two Indian River County Sheriff’s Office detectives assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive task Force were involved in a gunfight after pulling over the vehicle Steffens, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was traveling in.
During the incident, Steffers wounded a U.S. Marshal and was hit himself. He had indicated that he would not be taken alive.
The marshal was hit in the leg and taken to the hospital, treated and released Tuesday, according to a U.S. Marshals Service press release.
Steffers was also treated at a nearby hospital and is expected to survive. He faces sexual assault charges out of Colorado as well as attempted murder charges related to the shooting.
No probable cause statement or jail inmate rosters indicating whether steffers was still hospitalized could be located prior to publication.
Court records in Washington show no prior criminal history for Steffers, with only a 2019 divorce decree on file with local courts.
The Columbia Basin Herald has reached out to area law enforcement agencies to request information on complaints that may not have made it to court. We are also checking with the Washington Department of Health and the Health Enforcement & License Management System to see if complaints were filed while he was practicing in Washington. We have also reached out to the U.S. Marshals Service for additional information on the case.
Anyone who has more information regarding this case or criminal activity conducted by Steffens during his time in the area should contact the Moses Lake Police Department or Grant County Sheriff's Office.