Murder charges filed in fatal weekend shooting in Tacoma: Court records cite gang ties

An apparent gang-related shooting that killed a 24-year-old man in Tacoma Saturday led to a high-speed pursuit, an arrest, and first-degree murder charges Wednesday.

Pierce County prosecutors charged Bismar Francisco Andres, 27, with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, and attempted eluding. The victim, Samuel Garza-Gonzales, died of a gunshot wound to the neck, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office.

Charging documents describe a chaotic sequence of events that led to Andres’s arrest. Tacoma police officers initially responded to a report of shots fired in the area of East 35th and East D Streets. They found two witnesses. One showed them video footage of two individuals near a white pickup truck.

“The officer saw several flashes from both subjects, which appeared to be ‘firearms firing.’ They were firing at a dark colored SUV,” records state. “They ran to the white truck and drove away northbound after the shooting.”

Officers found 20 shell casings from two guns at the scene. Within an hour, they learned that Garza-Gonzalez had been dropped off at Tacoma General Hospital with gunshot wounds. By the time officers arrived, he was dead.

The SUV that brought him to the hospital was parked near the entrance to the emergency room. Officers found the adult driver, and two children in the back seat. They also found bullet holes on the car, and a spent bullet on the ground, records state.

The driver identified himself as the victim’s cousin. He said he, the children, the victim’s girlfriend/wife (records use both terms) and the victim had been driving to visit a relative earlier in the evening, but the relative wasn’t home, so they left.

“They were in the area of East 34th and McKinley when ‘someone just hopped out of the car and started shooting at them,’ “ the man told police. He said he grabbed his children, and realized Garza-Gonzales had been shot, records state. The group drove to the hospital, where the victim died.

The man began to cry, and wouldn’t say more to police. Officers later spoke to the girlfriend/wife, who said she saw only one person shooting at the SUV.

Officers continued to canvass the shooting scene. Sunday, detectives in an unmarked car spotted the white truck, which had distinctive features, court records say.

Detectives called for backup. The truck drove away, and a high-speed pursuit began.

The chase started on State Route 7 in Tacoma, and shifted to northbound I-5. The driver of the truck, later identified as Bismar Andres, passed other cars on the shoulder, exited the freeway and veered onto River Road in the direction of Puyallup, at times reaching 90 miles per hour. When he lost two tires, Andres stopped and put his hands out the driver’s side window, court records state.

A subsequent search of the truck revealed multiple 9mm shell casings similar to those recovered at the shooting scene, as well as a recently fired handgun of the same caliber, 350 grams of suspected methamphetamine, and a golf-ball sized packet of suspected cocaine, court records state.

Charging papers also note that the truck had a blue bandanna wrapped around the steering column. They describe Andres as a known gang member from a group that favors blue. Garza-Gonzales, the shooting victim, had been wearing red, records state.

Andres was arraigned Wednesday afternoon, and entered a plea of not guilty. Pro Tem Court Commissioner Meagan Foley set bail at $1.5 million. Court records state that the incident is still under active investigation.