Father and son arrested and charged in Lakewood homicide and shooting investigation
A father and son suspected in a homicide in Lakewood Aug. 25 were arrested and charged yesterday morning by law enforcement, according to a Lakewood Police Department press release.
The two suspects, Julio Cesar Lucas and Matthew Cesar Lucas, were arraigned Friday in Pierce County Superior Court. Prosecutors filed charges of murder in the first degree, attempted murder and drive-by shooting.
Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Adam Faber told The News Tribune via email that not guilty pleas were entered. Bail was set at $3 million for the father, Julio, and $2 million for the son, Matthew.
An investigation over several weeks led by the Lakewood Police Department with several other agencies led officers to serve a search/arrest warrant in Arlington, Washington early on Sept. 19. The father, age 41, and son, age 23, were arrested without incident, the release said.
Lakewood Police Sgt. Charles Porche said that officers found numerous items of evidence at the location of the arrest that helped officers identify the suspects and link them the incident, he told The News Tribune.
The investigation is ongoing to identify additional suspects, according to the release.
On Aug. 25, Lakewood Police officers were dispatched at 7:30 p.m. to multiple reports of a shootout at 82nd Street South and 33rd Avenue South, The News Tribune reported. Police were told people were exchanging gunfire and at least one person was struck.
Officers found multiple shooting victims at the intersection shot when they arrived, and transported them to local hospitals. Porche told The News Tribune that new information indicates there were four victims, correcting the original account in the earlier news release. Three had non-life-threatening injuries, and a fourth person, a man in his 30s, was declared dead after arriving at the hospital. The vehicle associated with the victims remained at the scene but the other involved vehicle drove away from the area and wasn’t identified at the time.
The man who died was identified by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office as Jose Lemus Castillo, age 33, of Tacoma, The News Tribune reported.
