They warned teen ‘bad things’ would happen. Then one of them died in gunfight with his dad

Convinced an Eatonville teenager had robbed him, Robert Asagai Jr. called the boy and allegedly threatened to shoot up his house.

When a white car rolled up Wednesday morning to a mobile home where the teen lived, the teen’s father was ready. He armed himself and went out front just as one of the men started shooting into a bedroom area of the trailer.

The gunman, later identified as Bryson Smith, then pointed his pistol at the father.

“The father fired first, twice, hitting Smith in the body once and once in the head,” according to court documents.

Smith, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Asagai and a 17-year-old boy also in the car left their friend and fled. They were arrested 20 minutes later.

On Thursday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Asagai, 22, with first-degree assault and drive-by shooting. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment, and Court Commissioner Meagan Foley set bail at $250,000.

The father is not expected to face criminal charges since investigators said he was justified in shooting Smith.

Charging papers give this account:

Asagai spent Tuesday evening hanging out at a girl’s apartment and invited the Eatonville teen. The teen told him he couldn’t make it.

Later that night, three masked men robbed Asagai and the girl. They got away with $600, marijuana, two cell phones and a handgun.

Asagai was convinced the teen was involved because he was “the only person who knew the defendant was at the apartment with a large amount of cash,” records show.

He called Smith to devise a plan for retaliation.

They called the Eatonville teen and demanded he return all the stolen items or “bad things were going to happen,” records show.

The teen warned his father that he might be in trouble. After speaking with Asagai on the phone, the father apparently thought the matter was settled but loaded his handgun just in case and went back to bed.

Asagai and Smith met up with a 17-year-old friend and went looking for a man they believed was one of the robbers. When they couldn’t find him by 7 a.m., they went to the teen’s house in Eatonville.

The teen and his father saw the car pulling up the long road leading to their home.

Smith shot up the house and allegedly turned the gun on the father, who shot him.

As Asagai drove away after his friend was shot, he allegedly fired one round at the father.

Deputies arrived and found Smith lying on top of a handgun, which investigators said must have jammed during the shooting.

This story was originally published February 22, 2018 at 2:51 PM with the headline "They warned teen ‘bad things’ would happen. Then one of them died in gunfight with his dad."