The job in Lakewood was supposed to be a standard “house lick” — slang for a home invasion robbery.
Instead, the trio of robbers broke into the wrong house in November 2014, held a couple in their 60s at gunpoint, went ahead with the heist, partially bungled it and fled, but not before the homeowner fatally shot one of them.
Friday in Pierce County Superior Court, the two surviving thieves learned what they threw away: youth, every bit of it. Qiuordai Taylor, 18, and Duprea Wilson, 20, were sentenced to 56 years in prison. A week ago, a jury found them guilty of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and multiple counts of assault.
Fear of capture after the incident added the manslaughter count and compounded the sentences. Wilson and Taylor, along with Taijon Voorhees, 19, fled after the homeowner freed himself, hid in a bedroom with his wife and fired at the bandits when they tried to re-enter. Voorhees took two bullets in the torso.
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Fear of capture after the incident added the manslaughter count and compounded the sentences. Wilson and Taylor, along with Taijon Voorhees, 19, fled after the homeowner freed himself, hid in a bedroom with his wife and fired at the bandits when they tried to re-enter. Voorhees took two bullets in the torso.
Wilson and Taylor drove him around after that, avoiding hospitals and possible exposure. They dumped the bleeding Voorhees in the parking lot of a Federal Way apartment complex, where he died. Defense attorneys argued that the robbers had no legal obligation to help their friend seek medical aid.
The defendants showed a complete and utter disregard for the sanctity of the home, security, dignity, and lives of the victims,” deputy prosecutor Neil Horibe wrote in his sentencing recommendation. “They even demonstrated this same lack of regard for the life of their friend, Taijon Voorhees, and he died as a result.”
Sean Robinson: 253-597-8486, @seanrobinsonTNT
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