Rental car records helped Lacey police find suspect in fatal drive-by shooting
READ MORE
Two Lacey teens killed in Nov. 14 drive-by shooting
Two suspects have been arrested in connection to the Nov. 14, 2025, drive-by shooting that killed brothers Alexander Borgen, 16, and Deven Borgen, 17, in Lacey.
Expand All
A second suspect accused of participating in the Nov. 14 drive-by-shooting that killed two Lacey teens is being held in the Thurston County jail without bail.
Jaden Hawk Johns, 20, attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Thursday.
Law enforcement arrested him Wednesday night following a vehicle pursuit on state Route 512 in Pierce County. The pursuit ended after a Thurston County deputy conducted a precision immobilizing technique, or PIT maneuver, that caused Johns’ vehicle to crash. Lacey police later booked him into the county jail on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of drive-by shooting.
In court Thursday, prosecutors alleged Johns drove the vehicle from which Trequanne Trenelle Wilson Mason, 20, shot and killed brothers Alexander Borgen, 16, and Deven Borgen, 17.
The teens were walking home and mistakenly targeted by Wilson Mason, who believed one of them was the person who shot at their home in an October 2024 incident, court records allege.
Investigators arrested Wilson Mason on Tuesday and he is being held in the county jail without bail pending his arraignment.
Judge Allyson Zipp set the no bail hold Thursday for Johns after finding probable cause for several crimes.
- Two counts of aggravated first-degree murder, premeditated, while armed with a firearm.
- Two counts of drive-by shooting.
- Attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle.
Court records show Johns has an open case in Mendocino Superior Court in California, in which he’s accused of attempted carjacking. He was previously convicted of reckless driving in a 2024 Thurston County Superior Court case.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Corey Thompson asked for the no bail hold, saying the state was concerned with his “propensity for violence” and that he may attempt to flee the state.
“At the conclusion of the elude, he was ejected from the vehicle, as well as multiple firearms and firearm accessories,” Thompson said. “The state has significant public safety concerns should he be released.”
Christina Borgen, mother of the two slain teens, addressed the court Thursday. She said never wants to see Johns or Wilson Mason free from incarceration.
“They knew what they were doing when they did it,” Borgen said. “They plotted this. I would like them to sit in jail for as long as they can rot. I’m never getting my kids back, so it’s not going to make up for nothing, but at least they’ll sit and be able to think at night what the heck they did. I want him to sleep and know that he killed two boys.”
Johns was represented by defense attorney Diana Wildland. She asked the court to set bail at $100,000, noting Johns has family in the area and he was indigent. She added she did not believe the information in the probable cause statement was sufficient for a no bail hold finding.
“I don’t think that, in and of itself, has evidentiary value, such that it could meet the threshold of clear and convincing evidence for a no bail hold today,” Wildland said.
Judge Zipp ultimately sided with the prosecution, saying the information in the statement met the standard for a no bail hold.
“All of this taken together causes the court to find that there is clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Johns both has a propensity for violence, and that that propensity creates a substantial likelihood of danger to the community and persons in the community,” Zipp said. “Having made that finding, the court is going to hold Mr. Johns without bail pending resolution of this matter.”
Zipp also barred Johns from contacting several people, including Wilson Mason and his associates as well as the Borgen family.
Johns is due back in court on Nov. 25 for his arraignment hearing. Wilson Mason is due back in court the same day for his arraignment hearing as well.
Who were Alexander and Deven Borgen?
Deven Borgen was a friendly and respectful student, who was well liked at Rainier High School and who challenged himself by trying things he had never done before, including playing basketball, Rainier High School Principal John Beckman and boys basketball coach Ben Shaeffer said this week.
He attended elementary school in the area, Shaeffer said, then was home-schooled for a period of time before rejoining middle school and high school, Beckman added.
Rainier High School has about 300 students, he said.
“He was one of those kids who looked you in the eye,” said Beckman, adding that he never broke rules and was a positive influence. He called his death “super sad” and said some students at the school were so shaken by the news that they haven’t been able to return to school yet.
Deven was being raised by his grandparents, according to Beckman.
His brother, Alexander, lived in Lacey, but was not enrolled at North Thurston Public Schools, spokeswoman Amy Blondin said. The boys’ mother, Christina Borgen, declined to speak to reporters during Wilson Mason’s court appearance on Wednesday.
Christina Borgen addressed Wilson Mason during the court hearing, saying he killed two innocent boys.
“My son Deven had all As in school. He went to church,” Christina Borgen said. My son Alex just changed his life, had all As (and) was doing good.”
After the Thursday hearing, Christina Borgen again declined to speak with reporters but reiterated that: “Alex was well-loved and a very good kid.”
Coach Shaeffer recalled a number of things about Deven, including his courage to try out for basketball, a sport he had never played before.
One moment stands out to him: Deven grabbed a defensive rebound during a game and immediately turned the ball over. He then turned the ball over a second time, but this time ran over to the sidelines, apologized to the entire team and then got back on defense.
“Who does that?” Shaeffer said. “It really spoke to how he was raised, and how respectful and accountable he was.”
The teenager was always willing to help, he said. He let another player borrow his basketball shoes, he volunteered to pick up a fellow player who didn’t have transportation, and he once helped a custodian stack firewood, Shaeffer said.
The basketball team met this week and vowed to act like Deven, the coach said.
They shared stories about him and agreed to “be more like him, be a great teammate and hold yourself accountable,” he said.
The investigation
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into Johns from the perspective of law enforcement. Prosecutors file such statements with the court so judges can find probable cause for alleged crimes and set conditions of release.
The following is a summary of the allegations in that statement:
Investigators tracked Wilson Mason to a hotel in Wenatchee and arrested him there on Tuesday.
In an interview with detectives, Wilson Mason allegedly admitted to mistakenly targeting Alexander Borgen and killing both the teens.
The vehicle in question was reportedly rented through a car sharing company, he told the detective. Law enforcement later determined the driver was Johns.
Wilson Mason went on to say he and Johns passed through a fast-food drive-through just before the shooting. He spotted the Borgen brothers shortly afterward and instructed Johns to drive past them without saying what he intended to do.
He then allegedly had Johns circle back because he was “99% positive” he found the target he was looking for.
Wilson Mason allegedly said he took a firearm from Johns, leaned out the window and fired about 27 rounds at the teenagers. The shooting occurred at about 1:50 a.m. near 24th Avenue Southeast and College Street Southeast.
After the shooting, Johns made a U-turn and dropped Wilson Mason at a home on Belair Drive Southeast. Wilson Mason said he left the gun in the vehicle Johns drove.
When investigators located Wilson Mason, they found him with the mother of his child, a woman who he was barred from contacting following a February domestic violence case.
The woman allegedly told law enforcement that Wilson Mason confessed to her that he killed the teens and told her he used a firearm “with a switch” that he obtained from Johns.
Investigators reviewed security footage from the fast-food drive-through Wilson Mason and Johns visited. The footage reportedly showed a Mercedes-Benz passing through at about 12:50 a.m. Nov. 14.
Investigators allegedly identified the driver in the footage as Johns based on his tattoos and prior booking photos. They then located the Mercedes-Benz vehicle and contacted the owner.
The owner confirmed he rented the car out through a car sharing company and investigators obtained the reservation information. Investigators also learned the same user had been renting a BMW vehicle since Nov. 14.
The BMW vehicle reportedly traveled to California and back and was scheduled to be returned to Puyallup at 10 p.m. Nov. 19.
Investigators located the BMW and allegedly identified Johns as the driver. A Thurston County deputy pursued the vehicle on state Route 512.
Video footage shared by Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders on social media shows the deputy attempted to use a grappler, a pursuit intervention tool that ensnares the back wheel of a fleeing vehicle in a net and tethers it to a patrol vehicle.
Though the grappler successfully connected to the vehicle, the line quickly snapped, and the Johns continued to flee.
The deputy then conducted a PIT maneuver on the vehicle at about 117 miles per hour, Sanders said. The maneuver was successful, and the vehicle veered off the highway, rolled over and crashed.
The statement indicates Johns was ejected from the vehicle along with firearms and firearm accessories. Law enforcement arrested him at the scene and allegedly observed several handguns inside the vehicle at the driver’s floorboard.
Staff writer Rolf Boone contributed to this report.
