3 charged in fatal shooting of Tacoma man walking down the street
Three people were charged Monday in what prosecutors say was a “completely random and unprovoked” fatal shooting of a man walking in Tacoma.
Marcus Moore, 20; Dustin Smith, 18; and Aida Leiato, 19, are charged with second-degree murder and drive-by shooting in the death of Raymond Serrano.
Smith and Moore pleaded not guilty and were each ordered held on $1 million bail.
Leiato is not in custody and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.
Serrano, 36, was shot and killed as he and a friend walked near East 26th and East D streets about 11:30 p.m. March 18.
His friend was not injured.
Charging papers give this account:
Serrano and a friend were walking down the street when a sedan drove by and somebody inside yelled for the men to get out of the street.
The friend replied, “Nothing but love, brother,” at the group inside the car.
When the driver made a U-turn and drove by the men again, Serrano’s friend told police he made a heart symbol as the sedan passed.
After the car made a second U-turn, one of the sedan’s passengers fired a single shot out the window and hit Serrano.
Serrano died of a gunshot wound to his torso, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
A 9 mm shell casing and bullet fragment were found at the scene.
Witnesses described a dark-colored sedan leaving the scene but remaining in the area after the homicide.
Police were able to link the sedan to Moore, who was stopped in the car by troopers March 26. Leiato was also in the vehicle during the traffic stop.
The investigation found Moore and Smith had been arrested in Olympia two days after Serrano’s death and police there recovered two pistols, including a 9 mm.
Detectives had the guns and evidence analyzed by forensic experts, who determined a bullet fragment found at the homicide scene was fired by one of the guns taken from Smith and Moore.
When Tacoma police brought Smith in for questioning Friday, he allegedly confessed and told detectives they often hung out in that area of Tacoma to drink and smoke marijuana.
All three defendants were allegedly armed that night.
Smith said Leiato was driving when they passed Serrano and his friend and Moore fired at them, records say.
He claimed he fired his gun into the air as they fled.
“Smith would eventually retract that and say he fired out his window without raising his arm, but he maintained he fired after Moore fired and Serrano fell,” prosecutors wrote in charging documents.
Moore was arrested Saturday.
“After being advised of his constitutional rights, Moore denied any knowledge of this incident and blamed his father for committing it,” records say.
Prosecutors said both Moore and Smith have been charged in Thurston County with felonies involving firearms and violence, crimes which occurred within 48 hours of Serrano’s death.
The two are accused of arranging the sale of a gun and then shooting and trying to rob the victim in Olympia March 20.
Moore and Smith are charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in Thurston County for that incident.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 2:03 PM.
