Boyfriend of Jacqueline Salyers pleads guilty to robbery

The man who was with Jacqueline Salyers when she was fatally shot after driving toward a Tacoma police officer was sentenced Thursday to more than 10 years in prison for a robbery that led to the warrant for his arrest.

Kenneth Wright, 33, of Tacoma pleaded guilty Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court to first-degree robbery, unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm.

He was sentenced to 10 years and nine months in prison, followed by 18 months in community custody.

Salyers, Wright’s girlfriend, drove toward police Officer Scott Campbell on Jan. 28 as he and another officer approached their car in the 3300 block of South Sawyer Street while Wright was on the run.

Campbell shot the 32-year-old Tacoma woman four times, killing her. Wright got away, armed with a rifle and he was arrested Feb. 15.

Prosecutors cleared Campbell of criminal wrongdoing in the shooting, which a police review board found to be within department policy.

Salyers’ family has sought an outside investigation into her shooting and has prepared to file a lawsuit against Tacoma police over her death.

Wright plead guilty to a charge stemming from the Nov. 10, 2015, robbery of a Safeway store at 1624 E. 72nd St.

According to court documents, Wright and two women shoplifted from the store and he brandished a revolver at a store loss prevention employee. The employee later identified Wright in a photo montage.

Prosecutors originally believed the robbery conviction was Wright’s third strike offense, which would have mandated a life sentence. But the conviction is his first strike offense, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

He previously had been convicted of seven felonies, as well as nine misdemeanors.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Boyfriend of Jacqueline Salyers pleads guilty to robbery."