Criminal sentencing updates in Pierce County Superior Court

The curated articles on recent criminal sentencings in Pierce County Superior Court describe sentencing decisions, legal proceedings and community reactions.

In the case of Shawn Kemp, a former NBA player, the judge sentenced him to electronic home monitoring and community service instead of jail time after Kemp pleaded guilty to firing a gun at a stolen car. Before the sentencing, Kemp expressed remorse.

Another article details the sentencing of Matthew F. Geiger, who received over eight years in prison for vehicular homicide after a DUI crash killed a man in Buckley. Geiger's blood-alcohol level was well above the legal limit, and his actions caused a fatal three-vehicle wreck. In a separate sentencing, Isiah Davon Martin was sentenced to nearly 61 years in prison for orchestrating a murder committed by two teenagers as revenge. Judge Philip Sorensen emphasized the betrayal of community trust when issuing the punishment.

David Benjamin Coots, 43, pleads guilty to second-degree assault, tampering with a witness and fourth-degree assault, at Pierce County Superior Court on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Tacoma, Wash. By Brian Hayes

NO. 1: ‘MOST MANIPULATIVE MAN.’ EX-WA MEDICAL WORKER GUILTY IN ABORTION-PILL CASE

The Gig Harbor man said he sneaked medication into his girlfriend so she would miscarry. | Published July 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by Puneet Bsanti

Larry Darnell “Trae” Marshall III is pictured in an undated photograph. Marshall, 16, was identified by the medical examiner as the victim of a fatal shooting March 29, 2023, in Tacoma.

NO. 2: JUDGE SAYS TACOMA MAN’S RECRUITMENT OF TEENS TO COMMIT MURDER BETRAYED COMMUNITY

Isiah Davon Martin, 31, was sentenced to prison Friday for the murder of 16-year-old Larry “Trae” Marshall. | Published July 12, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Ngaire Tusi was found dead at Oakland Madrona Park on Dec. 18. A medical examiner has ruled her death as a homicide.

NO. 3: MAN SENTENCED FOR KILLING TACOMA WOMAN WHO COOPERATED WITH RAPE INVESTIGATION

The victim’s mother told police her daughter was accused of being a “snitch.” | Published July 16, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Riquaisha Braxton holds a photograph of her father, Ricktor Murphy, pictured in October 2023 with a teddy bear with his granddaughter’s name. Braxton was in Pierce County Superior Court on Monday, July 21, 2025 to speak in court before Chase Wilcox, 19, was sentenced to 10 years, six months in prison for fatally shooting Murphy during a petty argument in Tacoma. By Peter Talbot

NO. 4: TACOMA MAN FATALLY SHOT IN ‘ARGUMENT ABOUT NOTHING.’ HIS KILLER IS NOW SENTENCED

The victim’s loved ones lambasted the defendant for taking the life of a man described as the glue that held his family together. | Published July 22, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

One person has died from a head-on crash early Wednesday morning in Sumner.

NO. 5: HE WAS HEADED TO JOB IN TACOMA WHEN DRUNK DRIVER KILLED HIM. HERE’S THE SENTENCE

The fatal collision occurred on a highway interchange near Sumner. | Published July 23, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Francisco Z. Cepeda Baldiva, 34, is escorted out of court July 25, 2025 in Pierce County Superior Court after being sentenced to 55 years, four months in prison for shooting at a vehicle occupied by four people in Lakewood and injuring two of them. By Peter Talbot

NO. 6: JUDGE SAYS FAMILY’S ASSAULT IN LAKEWOOD TELLS SOCIETY ‘YOU AREN’T SAFE ANYWHERE’

A 34-year-old man was sentenced Friday for shooting at a vehicle occupied by four family members returning home after a coastal vacation. | Published July 28, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Jamon Kemp, center left, embraces father and former NBA star Shawn Kemp after a sentencing hearing for Shawn Kemp on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, at Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash. Kemp did not receive any jail time, and was instead ordered to 30 days of electronic home monitoring and a year of community custody, along with 240 hours of community service, to be served primarily in Tacoma and Pierce County. By Liesbeth Powers

NO. 7: JUDGE SENTENCES FORMER NBA STAR SHAWN KEMP FOR SHOOTING AT STOLEN CAR IN TACOMA

A Pierce County judge declined to order any jail time for Shawn Kemp on Friday after the former NBA Seattle Supersonics star pleaded guilty to firing upon a stolen car outside the Tacoma Mall occupied by men who had broken into his truck. | Published August 22, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Former Seattle Supersonics basketball player Shawn Kemp appears in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Washington, on Thursday, May 4, 2023, to be arraigned on charge of first-degree assault for a March 8 shooting at the Tacoma Mall. (AP PHOTO/Tony Overman, The News Tribune)

NO. 8: PROSECUTORS SEEK JAIL TERM FOR EX-NBA STAR SHAWN KEMP IN ASSAULT CASE

Pierce County prosecutors on Friday will ask a judge to sentence former Seattle Supersonics star Shawn Kemp to nine months in county jail after he was convicted of shooting at a stolen car occupied by men he suspected had taken his phone. | Published August 19, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Former NBA star Shawn Kemp exits the courtroom after his sentencing hearing on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, at Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash. Kemp did not receive any jail time, and was instead ordered to 30 days of electronic home monitoring and a year of community custody, along with 240 hours of community service, to be served primarily in Tacoma and Pierce County. By Liesbeth Powers

NO. 9: DID SHAWN KEMP GET OFF EASY FOR ASSAULT? PROSECUTORS ASK JUDGE TO RECONSIDER

Prosecutors have asked the judge who sentenced former NBA SuperSonics star Shawn Kemp to 30 days of home monitoring and 240 hours of community service to reconsider part of his punishment, pointing out that home confinement is not available to people convicted of a violent crime. | Published September 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.