They lured teen to Tacoma alley, beat him and tried to rob him. He shot one of them dead

A teenager who was killed in a Tacoma alley was trying to rob an acquaintance of drugs, records say.

Police were called to the 5100 block of South Oakes Street early Saturday and found Hector Gonzalez, 15, with a gunshot wound to the chest.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Now, his best friend and best friend’s girlfriend, both 15, are charged with attempted first-degree robbery and second-degree assault.

They are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon.

Pierce County prosecutors are still deciding whether to charge the alleged shooter with a crime. He is being held at Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center.

Charging papers give this account:

Gonzalez and his friend found out an acquaintance had a gun and marijuana and plotted to rob him. They persuaded a 15-year-old girl to invite the teen over to her house while they waited in an alley to jump him with a baseball bat.

When the teen arrived at the girl’s house, a gun allegedly fell out of his pocket. The girl texted her boyfriend and Gonzalez that the teen was armed and “they responded they would take care of it,” records say.

Moments after the teen left the girl’s house, several neighbors reported hearing male voices arguing and a single gunshot.

Gonzalez’s friend was still on the scene when police arrived.

Although he initially lied and said he didn’t know Gonzalez, he eventually admitted it was his best friend and said an unknown man walking down the alley shot him.

He changed his story later, admitting to detectives that he and Gonzalez planned to rob their acquaintance but said they only hit the teen with a baseball bat because he began shooting at them.

The teen told police he’d found the gun a few days earlier and started carrying it for protection.

He claimed he walked out of the girl’s house and was immediately struck on the head with a baseball bat, records show.

After being hit several times with the bat and punched in the face, the teen fired a single shot, hitting Gonzalez, according to his account.

He fled the scene, throwing the gun in nearby bushes.

The teen was arrested later that day. He had a large lump on the back of his head and his injuries appeared to match his story about what happened, records say.

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 12:58 PM with the headline "They lured teen to Tacoma alley, beat him and tried to rob him. He shot one of them dead."