Father of 2 was killed outside Tacoma apartment building. Could it have been prevented?
The family of a 20-year-old father of two who was fatally shot outside a Tacoma Hilltop apartment has sued the property management for wrongful death.
Lehman Charrod Tucker died April 18, 2023 after an argument between two women on social media turned into a physical confrontation.
Tucker was hanging out with a friend and the friend’s girlfriend at the Travis Apartments, which is owned by JA Travis LLC. Audrianna Young, 20, who previously dated Tucker’s friend, was angry that he and his new girlfriend were expecting a baby, The News Tribune previously reported.
Young allegedly threatened the girlfriend and showed up at the apartment, telling the girlfriend she wanted to fight. The girlfriend sent her boyfriend and Tucker to confront Young. An argument broke out outside the building, and Tucker was shot. The shooter was identified as 23-year-old Artavious Magee.
Young was charged with second-degree murder and is being held in Pierce County Jail on $750,000 bail. Magee was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He is being held at the jail on $1.5 million bail, records show.
The suit was filed on July 30 at Pierce County Superior Court on behalf of Tucker’s estate by his mother, La Jonna Johnson. It alleges that JA Travis and about 1 to 10 “John Does” who have yet to be identified, negligently maintained, inspected, secured, patrolled and managed the property.
Documents say the alleged inaction and failure to secure the property resulted in Tucker’s murder. Tucker was a resident at the property at the time of his death.
The suit alleges that Magee and Young were present on the property and posed a known threat to people, including Tucker, prior to the shooting.
The apartment building also was “the site of extensive prior criminal activity, including violent criminal activity and prior shots fired on the premises,” documents show.
The Travis Apartments is about two blocks away from Wright Park. Documents allege that the management, including employees and staff, knew of or should have known of the criminal activity.
The suit says that despite the knowledge of criminal activity, the property management and employees did not security the property.
The management is accused of “breaching their duty” to Tucker when it did not keep the premises safe from foreseeable third-party criminal acts or misconduct.
What does the lawsuit claim?
The suit alleged that the complex did not:
- Provide adequate security or assess the need for security on the premises.
- Reasonably investigate or discover the history of criminal activity on the premises.
- Provide proper or adequate surveillance at the apartment complex.
- Properly train employees and other staff members to recognize and correct any dangerous conditions that could harm someone.
- Monitor security personnel.
- Monitor performance of its contractors hired to provide security on the property.
- Hire competent security personnel or implement and follow security measures.
Remove dangerous and/or unauthorized people from the premises.
Budget or allocate resources for adequate security.
Follow the instructions and/or recommendations of law enforcement.
It is also alleged that activity that was potentially harmful to others was not monitored, which knowingly subjected people on the property to risk of physical harm.
Visitors and business invitees, including Tucker, also were not warned of the risks of criminal activity on the property, the lawsuit states.
As a result of the property’s negligence, documents say, Tucker’s death has caused pain and suffering to the family. There is also a loss of monetary contributions, which Tucker would have made to his beneficiaries and estate.
“Mr. Tucker was a beautiful soul who loved his family and community deeply. His family hopes to achieve full justice by not letting this happen to another person’s loved one,” attorney Brian Mickelsen of Mickelsen Dalton LLC told The News Tribune.
Mickelsen said the apartment complex had around-the-clock criminal activity, and he believes management did nothing to address it.
The suit seeks unspecified damages, legal fees and other relief that the court determines.
The News Tribune has reached out to a representative from JA Travis LLC for comment.
This story was originally published August 1, 2024 at 5:15 AM.
